Rosa Maria Hernandez
University of the Basque Country, Spain
Posters & Accepted Abstracts: Neurochem Neuropharm
Over the past years, there has been a remarkable increase in the prevalence of neurodegenerative diseases (NDs). Clinically, NDs include chronically progressive dementias, ataxias and disorders of movement. The most common age-related NDs are Alzheimer�s and Parkinson�s diseases. Due to the low effectiveness of these treatments, promising and interesting therapies, such as growth factors (GFs), have been investigated. Nevertheless, the success of these new treatment options not only depends on the application of the specific neurotrophin, but also on a suitable approach for delivering these proteins to the brain. The development of appropriate drug delivery systems (DDS) may allow an enhancement of the GFs concentration in the brain, reaching therapeutic levels. In this sense, nanotechnologies could offer novel opportunities to formulate GFs using a wide variety of biodegradable nanocarriers, including polymeric nanospheres, lipidic nanocarriers, liposomes, and gene therapy, as possible treatments for the different neurodegenerative disorders.
Email: rosa.hernandez@ehu.es
