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Steph-food for thought
I do not see how Herceptin can be reworked to cross the blood-brain barrier
as it is such a large molecule that it cannot get through. However, other means mechanical, electro-magnetic, chemical, immunological may be found to "open" the BBB (ie, make it more permeable) so that Herceptin and other large molecules can get through.
A young woman with ALL I met recently had a terrible case of meningitis brought on when a team of doctors gave her chemo when they were unaware that she was on a monoclonal antibody usually used for rheumatoid arthritis (as it is directed against nKB alpha, a marker which happend to be found on her leukemic cells). As it turned out the monoclonal antibody made her BBB permeable and the chemo got in in very high concentrations, when it normally wouldn't have been able to pass through at all.
She had no known sxs or involvement of the CNS, so this unexpected "treatment" was entirely unwelcome.
These monoclonal antibodies will be used by many more patients in the future, and hopefully their price will decrease, therefore. So let's be hopeful...
Food for thought!
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