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  • Review Article
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Nanotechnology—novel therapeutics for CNS disorders

Nature Reviews Neurology volume 8, pages 307–318 (2012)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Research into treatments for diseases of the CNS has made impressive strides in the past few decades, but therapeutic options are limited for many patients with CNS disorders. Nanotechnology has emerged as an exciting and promising new means of treating neurological disease, with the potential to fundamentally change the way we approach CNS-targeted therapeutics. Molecules can be nanoengineered to cross the blood–brain barrier, target specific cell or signalling systems, respond to endogenous stimuli, or act as vehicles for gene delivery, or as a matrix to promote axon elongation and support cell survival. The wide variety of available nanotechnologies allows the selection of a nanoscale material with the characteristics best suited to the therapeutic challenges posed by an individual CNS disorder. In this Review, we describe recent advances in the development of nanotechnology for the treatment of neurological disorders—in particular, neurodegenerative disease and malignant brain tumours—and for the promotion of neuroregeneration.

Key Points

  • To be effective, therapies for CNS disorders must overcome hurdles including the blood–brain barrier, the complex cellular architecture of the CNS, and the multifactorial nature of CNS disease

  • Nanotechnology—engineering of materials that measure less than 100 nm in at least one dimension—can combat these challenges, and enable multimodal therapeutic targeting at the molecular level

  • The efficacy of nanoscale treatments has been demonstrated in models of neurodegenerative disease, neuroregeneration and brain tumours, but few of these treatments have been successfully translated to the clinic

  • The future of nanotechnology in clinical neuroscience will rely on our ability to interface this technology with our burgeoning understanding of the molecular underpinnings of CNS disease

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Ward 10-233, 303 E. Chicago Avenue, Chicago, 60611, IL, USA

    Maya Srikanth & John A. Kessler

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  1. Maya Srikanth
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  2. John A. Kessler
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M. Srikanth researched data for the article, contributed to discussion of the content, wrote the article, and contributed to the review and editing of the manuscript before submission. J. A. Kessler provided substantial contribution to discussion of the content and to the review and editing of the manuscript before submission.

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Correspondence to Maya Srikanth.

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Srikanth, M., Kessler, J. Nanotechnology—novel therapeutics for CNS disorders. Nat Rev Neurol 8, 307–318 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrneurol.2012.76

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