Abstract
This chapter presents data to demonstrate the selective nature of the modifications to the transport processes between the blood and brain that occur during the period of postnatal development. A substance such as glucose enters the brain faster than could be achieved by simple diffusion through the plasma membranes of capillary endothelial cells. In addition to a small diffusional component, there is a faster uptake that is saturable. Glucose is not the only small-molecular-weight, water-soluble substance to move into brain at high rates. There are separate carriers for groups of amino acids, for monocarboxylic acids, and for several other classes of compounds. The studies on ketone body transport have shown that when the blood concentrations are kept high over a period of days, there is a high maximal transport rate. A gradual decline in the blood concentration of ketone bodies is followed by a fall in the transport capacity. The possibility of an association between sustained blood concentration and transport capacity may have clinical relevance.
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