Title:Transdermal Drug Delivery Systems and their Potential in Alzheimer’s Disease Management
Volume: 19
Issue: 5
Author(s): Panoraia I. Siafaka, Ece Ö. Bülbül, Gökce Mutlu, Mehmet E. Okur, Ioannis D. Karantas and Neslihan Ü. Okur*
Affiliation:
- Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Health Sciences, Istanbul,Turkey
Keywords:
Transdermal, Alzheimer's disease, drug delivery systems, cholinesterase inhibitors, N-methyl-D-aspartate antagonists,
neuropathological disease.
Abstract: Alzheimer's disease is a neuropathological disease with symptoms such as language problems,
confusion as to place or time, loss of interest in activities, which were previously enjoyed, behavioral
changes, and memory loss. Alzheimer's disease and other types of dementia affect almost
46.8 million people globally and are estimated to strike about 131.5 million people in 2050. It has been
reported that Alzheimer's is the sixth main cause of mortality. The most used drugs, which are currently
approved by the Food, and Drug Administration for Alzheimer’s disease are donepezil, rivastigmine,
galantamine, memantine, and the combination of donepezil and memantine. However, most of
the drugs present various adverse effects. Recently, the transdermal drug delivery route has gained increasing
attention as an emerging tool for Alzheimer's disease management. Besides, transdermal drug
delivery systems seem to provide hope for the management of various diseases, due to the advantages
that they offer in comparison with oral dosage forms. Herein, the current advancements in transdermal
studies with potent features to achieve better Alzheimer's disease management are presented. Many
researchers have shown that the transdermal systems provide higher efficiency since the first-pass hepatic
metabolism effect can be avoided and a prolonged drug release rate can be achieved. In summary,
the transdermal administration of Alzheimer's drugs is an interesting and promising topic, which
should be further elaborated and studied.