Archive · 22 Sep 2026
Ageing Brain Changes May Limit Alzheimer’s Drug Delivery
A new review looked at how ageing changes the brain’s environment.
Many medicines use tiny carriers called nanoparticles to reach the brain.
The blood-brain barrier is like a protective filter that keeps many substances out.
However, getting through this filter is only the first step.
In older brains, blood vessels may become stiffer and blood flow may decrease.
The brain’s waste-removal system and immune activity can also change.
These changes may affect where nanoparticles go and how long they stay.
The researchers want medicines to be tested in older-brain conditions before they are used to develop treatments for diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
A review warns that crossing the blood-brain barrier may not be enough to deliver medicines effectively in older brains.
Ageing can stiffen blood vessels, reduce blood flow and impair the brain’s glymphatic waste-clearance system.
Chronic immune activation may affect how drug-carrying nanoparticles are distributed, retained and cleared.
The review calls for age-responsive nanoparticles and dosing strategies that account for biological rhythms.
Researchers recommend age-specific safety and performance testing before these delivery systems enter clinical use.
- Who
- Dr Rajeev Taliyan of BITS Pilani and researchers from Taipei Medical University and affiliated institutions in Taiwan authored the review.
- What
- The review examines how ageing may change the performance of nanoparticle-based drug-delivery systems in the brain.
- When
- The article describes it as a new review; no specific publication date is given.
- Where
- The review was published in Ageing Research Reviews and involved researchers from BITS Pilani and institutions in Taiwan.
- Why
- Ageing-related changes in blood vessels, waste clearance and immune activity may affect whether medicines reach their intended targets and work effectively.
- Publication
- Ageing Research Reviews
- Lead-named researcher
- Dr Rajeev Taliyan, Neuropsychopharmacology Division, Department of Pharmacy, BITS Pilani
- Drug-delivery focus
- Nanoparticles designed to carry medicines into the brain
- Ageing effects identified
- Blood-vessel stiffening, reduced blood flow, impaired glymphatic clearance and chronic immune activation
- Proposed approach
- Age-responsive nanoparticles that react to specific biochemical signals
- Dosing consideration
- Treatment schedules that account for daily biological rhythms
- Potential relevance
- Age-related neurological conditions including Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease