Vector enabled CRISPR gene editing – A revolutionary strategy for targeting the diversity of brain pathologies

•Brain pathologies are considered one of the greatest contributors of death and disability worldwide.•The major challenge to effective treatment is finding therapeutics that cross the blood–brain barrier and target aberrant cellular processes, while having minimum effect on essential cellular processes, and healthy cells.•CRISPR technology has emerged as a biomedical tour de force with the potential to revolutionise the treatment of both neurological and cancer related brain pathologies.•The aim of this review is to take stock of the progress made in CRISPR technology in relation to treating brain pathologies.