{
  "id": 17092843,
  "title": "Vitamin-carrying protein pathway shows promise for brain drug delivery",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/29/vitamin-carrying-protein-pathway-shows-promise-for-brain-drug-delivery",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-10-29T17:00:01.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Medical Xpress",
    "slug": "medical-xpress",
    "url": "https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-vitamin-protein-pathway-brain-drug.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Researchers at the University of Eastern Finland have discovered a transporter protein called sodium-dependent multivitamin transporter (SMVT) that could revolutionize the delivery of drugs to the brain. The blood-brain barrier often blocks many compounds from entering the central nervous system, making drug delivery challenging. In their study, the researchers explored the potential of SMVT for targeting creatine derivatives to the brain. Creatine plays a crucial role in cellular energy metabolism and deficiencies can lead to severe neurological disorders. The study revealed that SMVT can effectively serve as an alternative transporter for creatine derivatives, offering a new approach to enhance brain creatine levels when conventional transport is inadequate. Beyond creatine, exploiting SMVT may enable more efficient delivery of other therapeutic compounds into the brain, potentially leading to more targeted treatments for neurological disorders. Associate Professor Kristiina Huttunen, who led the study, stated that SMVT proved to be a suitable transporter for delivering various types of compounds into the brain. Instead of trying to bypass the blood-brain barrier, the researchers aimed to utilize its own transport mechanisms for therapeutic purposes. The study was published in the journal ACS Chemical Neuroscience.",
  "summary": "Researchers at the University of Eastern Finland have identified a transporter protein with the potential to open new avenues for improving creatine delivery into the brain and for developing other therapies targeting the central nervous system.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}