Current Medicinal Chemistry - Volume 21, Issue 37, 2014

The current rapid development of nanotechnologies and engineered nanomaterials (ENM) will impact the society in a major fashion during the coming decades. This development also causes substantial safety concerns. Among the many promising applications of ENM, products that can be used for diagnosis and treatment of diseases, including conditions that affect the nervous system, are under development. ENM can pas Read More

Nanomedicine, an emerging therapeutic tool in current medical frontiers, offers targeted drug delivery for many neurodegenerative disorders. Neuroinflammation, a hallmark of many neurodegenerative disorders, is mediated by microglia, the resident immunocompetent cells of the central nervous system (CNS). Microglial cells respond to various stimuli in the CNS resulting in their activation which may have a beneficial or a Read More

Nowadays, the delivery of drugs by means of intravenously administered nanosized drug carriers - polymerdrug conjugates, liposomes and micelles, is technically possible. These delivery systems are mainly designed for tumour therapy, and accumulate passively into tumours by means of the well known EPR effect. Targeted nanocarriers, that additionally contain ligands for receptors expressed on cell surfaces, are also Read More

Many potential drugs for the treatment of neurological diseases are unable to reach the brain in sufficient enough concentrations to be therapeutic because of the blood brain barrier. On the other hand, direct delivery of drugs to the brain provides the possibility of a greater therapeutic-toxic ratio than with systemic drug delivery. The use of intranasal delivery of therapeutic agents to the brain provides a means of bypassing th Read More

Chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans (CSPGs) are complex biomolecules that are known to facilitate patterning of axonal direction and cell migration during the early growth and development phase of the mammalian central nervous system (CNS). In adults, they continue to control neuronal plasticity as major constituents of the “peri-neuronal nets” (PNNs) that surround adult CNS neurons. CSPGs are also barrier-forming mol Read More

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a common neurologic disorder that results in loss of sensory function and mobility. It is well documented that tissue engineering is a potential therapeutic strategy for treatment of SCI. In this connection, various biomaterials have been explored to meet the needs of SCI tissue engineering and these include natural materials, synthetic biodegradable polymers and synthetic non- degradable polymer Read More

Stroke or cerebral vascular accidents are among the leading causes of death in the world. With the availability of Digital Subtraction Angiography, transluminal angioplasty has become feasible in many situations and the role of intracranial stents is becoming ever more important in the management of cerebral vascular diseases. In current review, we outline the chronological development of various stents namely; ballo Read More

Intracranial aneurysms are present in 1-5% of population and can be described as “ticking time bombs” that can go off at any time and cause serious harms including permanent disability and death. There are two routinely practiced treatment options for this disease; endovascular coiling and surgical clipping. In recent years other promising methods, such as stent-assisted coiling, flow diverting devices and Onyx embolic a Read More