After listening to overviews from senior experts in the field, the more than 250 symposium attendees took a closer look at the characteristics of the blood-brain barrier, the defects that can initiate and/or occur as a consequence of a disease such as Alzheimer's, and recent research into what is known about specific cell types that compose the blood-brain barrier and how they react to various toxic stimuli. "While the role of the cerebrovasculature in Alzheimer's hasn't been ignored, it doesn't have much representation in the research." Merck has a strong cardiovascular franchise and is interested in trying to engage the best practices and experiences in this area to see how they can be applied to neuroscience and Alzheimer's disease.

Symposia such as this are "very useful" for Merck. "They bring together leading experts in the field, allow us to get a good perspective on different aspects of a particular area that we're interested in and make us better decision makers." With most employees in the Boston neuroscience group being new to the company, Dr. Shearman sees these symposia as "a good way of educating them, developing a group mentality around the science of a disease area and describing what our vision is going to be for approaching it."

Original image courtesy of Berislav Zlokovic, University of Rochester.

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