TY - JOUR
T1 - Current options for drug delivery to the spinal cord
AU - Rossi, Filippo
AU - Perale, Giuseppe
AU - Papa, Simonetta
AU - Forloni, Gianluigi
AU - Veglianese, Pietro
PY - 2013/3
Y1 - 2013/3
N2 - Introduction: Spinal cord disorders (SCDs) are among the most devastating neurological diseases, due to their acute and long-term health consequences, the reduced quality of life and the high economic impact on society. Here, drug administration is severely limited by the blood-spinal cord barrier (BSCB) that impedes to reach the cord from the bloodstream. So, developing a suitable delivery route is mandatory to increase medical chances. Areas covered: This review provides an overview of drug delivery systems used to overcome the inaccessibility of the cord. On one side, intrathecal administration, either with catheters or with biomaterials, represents the main route to administer drugs to the spinal cord; on the other side, more recent strategies involve chemical or electromagnetic disruption of the barrier and synthesis of novel functionalized compounds as nanoparticles and liposomes able to cross BSCB. Expert opinion: Both the multifactorial pathological progression and the restricted access of therapeutic drugs to the spine are probably the main reasons behind the absence of efficient therapeutic approaches for SCDs. Hence, very recent highlights suggest the use of original strategies to overcome the BSCB, and new multidrug delivery systems capable of local controlled release of therapeutic agents have been developed. These issues can be addressed by using nanoparticles technology and smart hydrogel drug delivery systems, providing an increased therapeutic compound delivery in the spinal cord environment and multiple administrations able to synergize treatment efficacy.
AB - Introduction: Spinal cord disorders (SCDs) are among the most devastating neurological diseases, due to their acute and long-term health consequences, the reduced quality of life and the high economic impact on society. Here, drug administration is severely limited by the blood-spinal cord barrier (BSCB) that impedes to reach the cord from the bloodstream. So, developing a suitable delivery route is mandatory to increase medical chances. Areas covered: This review provides an overview of drug delivery systems used to overcome the inaccessibility of the cord. On one side, intrathecal administration, either with catheters or with biomaterials, represents the main route to administer drugs to the spinal cord; on the other side, more recent strategies involve chemical or electromagnetic disruption of the barrier and synthesis of novel functionalized compounds as nanoparticles and liposomes able to cross BSCB. Expert opinion: Both the multifactorial pathological progression and the restricted access of therapeutic drugs to the spine are probably the main reasons behind the absence of efficient therapeutic approaches for SCDs. Hence, very recent highlights suggest the use of original strategies to overcome the BSCB, and new multidrug delivery systems capable of local controlled release of therapeutic agents have been developed. These issues can be addressed by using nanoparticles technology and smart hydrogel drug delivery systems, providing an increased therapeutic compound delivery in the spinal cord environment and multiple administrations able to synergize treatment efficacy.
KW - Biomaterials
KW - Blood-spinal cord barrier
KW - Central nervous system
KW - Hydrogels
KW - Nanoparticles
KW - Spinal cord
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84873901699&partnerID=8YFLogxK
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U2 - 10.1517/17425247.2013.751372
DO - 10.1517/17425247.2013.751372
M3 - Article
C2 - 23289716
AN - SCOPUS:84873901699
VL - 10
SP - 385
EP - 396
JO - Expert Opinion on Drug Delivery
JF - Expert Opinion on Drug Delivery
SN - 1742-5247
IS - 3
ER -