Brenna Louise Cavalcanti Gondim, Jonatas da Silva Catarino, Marlos Aureliano Dias de Sousa, Mariana de Oliveira Silva, Marcela Rezende Lemes, Tamires Marielem de Carvalho-Costa, Tatiana Rita de Lima Nascimento, Juliana Reis Machado, Virmondes Rodrigues, Carlo José Freire Oliveira, Lúcio Roberto Cançado Castellano* and Marcos Vinicius da Silva Pages 3983 - 3996 ( 14 )
Background: Parasitic infections affecting the central nervous system (CNS) present high morbidity and mortality rates and affect millions of people worldwide. The most important parasites affecting the CNS are protozoans (Plasmodium sp., Toxoplasma gondii, Trypanosoma brucei), cestodes (Taenia solium) and free-living amoebae (Acantamoeba spp., Balamuthia mandrillaris and Naegleria fowleri). Current therapeutic regimens include the use of traditional chemicals or natural compounds that have very limited access to the CNS, despite their elevated toxicity to the host. Improvements are needed in drug administration and formulations to treat these infections and to allow the drug to cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB).
Methods: This work aims to elucidate the recent advancements in the use of nanoparticles as nanoscaled drug delivery systems (NDDS) for treating and controlling the parasitic infections that affect the CNS, addressing not only the nature and composition of the polymer chosen, but also the mechanisms by which these nanoparticles may cross the BBB and reach the infected tissue.
Results: There is a strong evidence in the literature demonstrating the potential usefulness of polymeric nanoparticles as functional carriers of drugs to the CNS. Some of them demonstrated the mechanisms by which drugloaded nanoparticles access the CNS and control the infection by using in vivo models, while others only describe the pharmacological ability of these particles to be utilized in in vitro environments.
Conclusion: The scarcity of the studies trying to elucidate the compatibility as well as the exact mechanisms by which NDDS might be entering the CNS infected by parasites reveals new possibilities for further exploratory projects. There is an urgent need for new investments and motivations for applying nanotechnology to control parasitic infectious diseases worldwide.
Drug delivery systems, central nervous system, parasitic infections, blood-brain barrier, nanoparticles, polymers.
Human Immunology Research and Education Group-GEPIH, Technical School of Health, Federal University of Paraiba, Joao Pessoa, Paraiba, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Parasitology, Federal University of Triangulo Mineiro, Uberaba, Minas Gerais, Department of Internal Medicine, Federal University of Triangulo Mineiro, Uberaba, Minas Gerais, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Parasitology, Federal University of Triangulo Mineiro, Uberaba, Minas Gerais, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Parasitology, Federal University of Triangulo Mineiro, Uberaba, Minas Gerais, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Parasitology, Federal University of Triangulo Mineiro, Uberaba, Minas Gerais, Human Immunology Research and Education Group-GEPIH, Technical School of Health, Federal University of Paraiba, Joao Pessoa, Paraiba, Department of Pathology, Genetics and Evolution, Federal University of Triangulo Mineiro, Uberaba, Minas Gerais, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Parasitology, Federal University of Triangulo Mineiro, Uberaba, Minas Gerais, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Parasitology, Federal University of Triangulo Mineiro, Uberaba, Minas Gerais, Human Immunology Research and Education Group-GEPIH, Technical School of Health, Federal University of Paraiba, Joao Pessoa, Paraiba, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Parasitology, Federal University of Triangulo Mineiro, Uberaba, Minas Gerais