Nanomedicine in the Management of Alzheimer's Disease: State-of-the-Art

Biomedicines. 2023 Jun 18;11(6):1752. doi: 10.3390/biomedicines11061752.

Abstract

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a deadly, progressive, and irreversible brain condition that impairs cognitive abilities. Globally, it affects 32.6 million individuals, and if no viable therapies are available by 2050, that figure might rise to 139 million. The current course of treatment enhances cognitive abilities and temporarily relieves symptoms, but it does not halt or slow the disease's development. Additionally, treatments are primarily offered in conventional oral dosage forms, and conventional oral treatments lack brain specialization and cause adverse effects, resulting in poor patient compliance. A potential nanotechnology-based strategy can improve the bioavailability and specificity of the drug targeting in the brain. Furthermore, this review extensively summarizes the applications of nanomedicines for the effective delivery of drugs used in the management of AD. In addition, the clinical progress of nanomedicines in AD is also discussed, and the challenges facing the clinical development of nanomedicines are addressed in this article.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; adverse effects; challenges; clinical development; nanomedicines; synthetic drugs.

Publication types

  • Review