Neurodegenerative Disorders and Nanoformulated Drug Development

Abstract

Degenerative and inflammatory diseases of the CNS include, but are not limited to, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, stroke, multiple sclerosis and HIV-1-associated neurocognitive disorders. These are common, debilitating and, unfortunately, hold few therapeutic options. In recent years, the application of nanotechnologies as commonly used or developing medicines has served to improve pharmacokinetics and drug delivery specifically to CNS-diseased areas. In addition, nanomedical advances are leading to therapies that target CNS pathobiology and as such, can interrupt disordered protein aggregation, deliver functional neuroprotective proteins and alter the oxidant state of affected neural tissues. This article focuses on the pathobiology of common neurodegenerative disorders with a view towards how nanomedicine may be used to improve the clinical course of neurodegenerative disorders. KeywordsAlzheimer's disease; amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; fullerene; nanomedicine; nanoparticles; neurodegeneration; neuroregeneration; Parkinson's disease; stroke A significant challenge for 21st century medicine is to positively affect the clinical outcomes for mind, motor and behavioral abnormalities that follow debilitating CNS conditions linked to aging, infections and degeneration. These include, but are not limited to: Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases (AD and PD), stroke, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), multiple sclerosis (MS) and HIV-1-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND) [1][2][3][4][5][6]. A myriad of factors affect disease onset and progression that include host genetics, lifestyle, environment, behavior, immunity and aging [7].Unfortunately, with the exception of anti-microbials, few therapies are currently available that can affect disease outcomes. Generally, modern medicine used for treatment of neurodegenerative disorders is at best palliative and manages only the symptoms [8,9]. Adding another level of difficulty is a paucity of early and accurate detection of biomarkers. This is especially important as most neurodegenerative disorders are difficult to diagnose and disease processes are operative for years before either the patient or physician is clear on a specific diagnosis. Another impediment for diagnosis rests with the underlying pathogenic mechanisms for neurodegenerative disorders that include modification, accumulation and aggregation of host proteins, disruption of blood flow, altered tissue homeostasis, low level infection, and/or †Author for correspondence: [10][11][12][13][14][15]. All of these issues could be positively affected if an intervention was made before permanent and long-lasting neural damage ensued. Unfortunately, the translation of promising results from laboratory and animal studies to clinical practice has met with mixed results.We posit that nanotechnology-directed modalities that can specifically target a damaged CNS hold considerable promise if unwanted side effects and tissue barriers can be overcome [16][17][18]. Based on t...

Neurological disorders and therapeutics targeted to surmount the blood–brain barrier

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“…The severity of these symptoms is determined by the amount of demyelination present, and the more severe the damage, the less the neurons can communicate with each other. 22 The exact etiology of the disease remains elusive, but it is fascinating to study the infiltration of autoreactive immune cells followed by generation of inflammatory lesions.…”

Nanotoxicity-Induced Alzheimer Disease and Parkinsonism: Not Further than Diagnosis

“…Aging, infections and degeneration in human induce mind, motor and behavioral abnormalities in CNS that follow debilitating conditions, which includes, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases (AD and PD), stroke, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), multiple sclerosis (MS) and HIV-1-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND). [16,17] Alzheimer's disease, the most prevalent neurodegenerative disorder is generally characterized by impairments of memory, cognition and behavior. Clinically, AD is characterized by loss of cortical, subcortical neurons and synapses [18].…”

Nanoparticles in Drug Delivery and Cancer Therapy: The Giant Rats Tail

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