Title:Therapeutic Strategies for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Diseases by Means of Drug Delivery Systems
Volume: 23
Issue: 31
Author(s): S. Cunha, M. H. Amaral, J. M. Sousa Lobo and A. C. Silva
Affiliation:
Keywords:
Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson’s disease, Liposomes, Micelles, Nanoparticles, Exosomes, Dendrimers,
Fullerenes.
Abstract: Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases are prevalent neurodegenerative
disorders worldwide, which are essentially related to aging. Within
the remarkable era of nanomedicine, nowadays several delivery systems
have been suggested to improve the treatment of these disorders, namely,
liposomes, micelles, nanoparticles (polymeric, lipid, metallic and inorganic),
exosomes, dendrimers and fullerenes. The advantage that has been claimed
to these delivery systems is that they facilitate the passage of drugs through
the blood brain barrier (BBB), enabling targeting before body degradation,
and increasing therapeutic efficacy, comparied to conventional pharmaceutical
dosage forms.
This review article provides a state of the art regarding the drug delivery systems that have
been studied for the treatment of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. It begins with a brief
description of the central nervous system (CNS) and the mechanisms involved in the development
of these diseases. Later, some examples of drugs used in the treatment of these neurodegenerative
diseases are presented, which are currently available in conventional pharmaceutical
dosage forms, and in new drug delivery systems that are under development.
