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- Therapeutic strategies for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Diseases by means of drug delivery systemsPublication . Cunha, S.; Amaral, M.H.; Lobo, J.M. Sousa; Silva, Ana CatarinaAlzheimer'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.
- Intranasal lipid nanoparticles for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseasesPublication . Cunha, S.; Almeida, H.; Amaral, M.H.; Lobo, J.M. Sousa; Silva, Ana CatarinaBackground: treatments for neurodegenerative diseases are challenging, due to the absence of fully effective medicines. One of the major problems associated to these is the occurrence of non-targeting events, which leads to adverse effects and requires frequent dose administration. Methods: Researches have been performed to develop new drug delivery systems administrated by alternative routes. For example, the direct nose-to-brain delivery of drugs by means of lipid nanoparticles, such as solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) and nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC), has been showing promising results. Results: Among the advantages of intranasal administration is the avoidance of passing the blood-brain barrier (BBB) to reach the central nervous system (CNS), allowing the direct delivery of drugs to the brain by a noninvasive way, minimizing systemic exposure and prolonging residence time. This review article discusses the advantages of using SLN and NLC for direct nose-to-brain drug delivery. A brief reference to other lipid-based carriers (liposomes, nanoemulsions and microemulsions) is also provided. Conclusion: The benefits of using SLN and NLC for improve nasal drug delivery have been demonstrated by in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo experiments. However, more in vivo animal studies are needed for advance to human clinical trials and reach clinics.