Comment · Fri, August 22, 2014 · Ceretropic
The 'blood-brain barrier' vs. nootropics...why should they work?
Original post in this thread
bloodbrain1 · 1 points
I just read this article about the blood-brain barrier (BBB) in New Scientist and this phrase stood out: "The downside of this is that the BBB also completely blocks the vast majority of drugs. Exceptions include some classes of fat and lipid-soluble chemicals, but these aren't much help as such drugs penetrate every cell in the body – resulting in major side effects." How do we reconcile this with the observation that many nootropics and other drugs have effects on the brain?
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22229742.400-human-brains-ultimate-barrier-to-open-for-first-time.html#.U6HGt_ldXuQ?utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=SOC&utm_campaign=twitter&cmpid=SOC%7CNSNS%7C2012-GLOBAL-twitter
What they were answering
Dizchord · 1 points
I'm pretty certain people who snort DMT rely on this, as MAO in the digestive tract breaks down DMT, and snorting it lets it immediately affect the brain.
u/MisterYouAreSoDumb · Ceretropic
Well smoking it bypasses the GI tract, but still leaves the BBB in between. With DMT, it's more about bypassing MAO than the BBB. That's also why ayahuasca contains MAOIs, so that it can be taken orally.