Nanoparticles for Drug Delivery in Parkinson's Disease: A Review of Potential Applications

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a significant neurodegenerative disorder affecting a substantial portion of the global population each year. It arises primarily from the destruction of dopamine-secreting cells, leading to an imbalance between the brain's two key neurotransmitters: dopamine and acetylcholine. While various genetic and environmental factors have been implicated in its development, the disease currently has no definitive cure. Treatment options include surgery or medications that aim to increase dopamine levels in the brain. In recent decades, nanoparticles have garnered extensive attention for their potential in treating various diseases, including PD. Traditional treatments face challenges such as low bioavailability, poor permeability across the blood-brain barrier, limited solubility in biological fluids, rapid metabolism, and inadequate biological distribution. Nanomedicine provides a promising solution to address these limitations, enhancing drug delivery and therapeutic efficacy for PD.

In this review, articles published between 1990 and August 2024 were sourced from reputable databases, including Scopus, ISC, PubMed, and Google Scholar, using keywords related to PD and its treatment. In the initial search, 106 articles were identified as relevant to the study's objectives. Following the application of inclusion and exclusion criteria and the removal of duplicates, 75 articles were selected for the final analysis.

The findings indicate that nanoparticles enhance the effectiveness of existing drugs by improving their solubility, bioavailability, and ability to cross the blood-brain barrier. Moreover, nanoparticles can be labeled to enable targeted therapies at specific sites. Furthermore, they offer the potential to explore the therapeutic effects of various biological compounds that have not yet been utilized for treating PD.

Nanoparticles enable the development of new treatments and strategies for combating PD by enhancing the bioavailability of existing effective compounds and reducing their side effects.