Current Pharmaceutical Design - Volume 22, Issue 10, 2016

It is well accepted that cortical and hippocampal synaptic densities are reduced in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). These alterations in neuronal networking occur at the very onset of AD and may lead to the neuronal loss displayed in later stages of the disease, which is characterized by severe cognitive and behavioral impairments. Many studies suggest that amyloid-β (Aβ) oligomers are responsible for synaptic disconne Read More

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a relatively common disorder of the Central Nervous System (CNS), whose etiology is characterized by a selective and progressive degeneration of dopaminergic neurons, and the presence of Lewy bodies in the pars compacta of the substantia nigra, and gaping dopamine depletion in the striatum. Patients with this disease suffer from tremors, slowness of movements, gait instability, and rigidity. T Read More

Neurodegenerative disorders are one of the most critical public health concerns of our times. Regrettably, therapeutic interventions currently available have shown only partial benefits to patients affected by one of these disorders. Although the important advances made during the last decades, several questions regarding physiopathological aspects of these diseases are still open. On this regard, the role of neuroinflam Read More

Neuroinflammation is a common characteristic of several mental health conditions such as major depression, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and schizophrenia (SCHZ). Inflammatory processes trigger and/or further deteriorate mental functions and are regarded as targets for therapeutic drug development. Cotinine is an alkaloid present in tobacco leaves and the main metabolite of nicotine. Cotinine Read More

Inflammatory response in the nervous system, called neuroinflammation, is a common process of several neurodegenerative diseases and brain disorders. To understand the underlying mechanism of this brain response to damage would be interesting to identify new common therapy targets to neurodegenerative processes. Ischemic stroke has an important socioeconomic impact being the second cause of mortality and the fi Read More

Multiple lines of evidence suggest that disease-related neurodegeneration seems to be a multifactorial process that involves different cytotoxic pathways converging in cell death. Neuropathological evidence indicates that neuroinflammation, excitotoxicity, redox-active metals, increased reactive oxygen and nitrogen species, abnormalities in the activity of the ubiquitin-proteasome system, impairments in endogenous anti Read More

Energy intake and expenditure are regulated by a complex network of neurochemical systems. The results of numerous studies have provided information about receptors involved, the sites of action within the brain and interactions between various systems, including opioid and cannabinoid, in regulation of energy balance. This review summarizes our present knowledge on the opioid and cannabinoid system app Read More

Nanomedicine, the application of nanotechnology to medicine, is being increasingly used to improve and exploit the advantages of efficient drug delivery. Different nanodevices have been developed in recent years, among them protein-based nanoparticles which have gained considerable interest. Albumin is a versatile protein carrier with several characteristics that make it an ideal candidate for drug delivery, such as its av Read More

Nature uses combination of lipid bilayers and cross-linked macromolecular networks to achieve workability, multifunctionality, and dynamism in living cells of different types. Despite the concept of liposome-nanogel structures (lipobeads) is known for about 30 years, lipobead-based drug delivery systems are still largely experimental. The data available on nano- and giant lipobeads are reviewed to demonstrate technologi Read More