Neural Regeneration Research ›› 2021, Vol. 16 ›› Issue (12): 2425-2426.doi: 10.4103/1673-5374.313040

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Advance in the use of gold nanoparticles in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases: new perspectives

Gustavo de Bem Silveira, Alexandre Pastoris Muller, Ricardo Andrez Machado-de-Ávila, Paulo Cesar Lock Silveira*   

  1. Laboratory of Experimental Pathophysiology, Graduate Program in Health Sciences, Universidade do Extremo Sul Catarinense, Criciúma, SC, Brazil (Silveira GB, Muller AP, Machado-de-Ávila RA, Silveira PCL) ;Programa de Pós Graduação em Farmacologia, UFSC, Florianópolis, SC, Brazil (Muller AP) 
  • Online:2021-12-15 Published:2021-05-14
  • Contact: Paulo Cesar Lock Silveira, psilveira@unesc.net.
  • Supported by:
    The present work was supported by CAPES-001 (to PCLS). 

Abstract: Various conditions affecting nerve cells and the nervous system due to the loss of neurons and their connecting networks are described under the superordinate phrase “Neurodegenerative diseases”. Such diseases lead to disability due to gradual neuronal death in both the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system. While many of these diseases have unknown causes, sometimes these are due to medical conditions such as alcoholism, a tumor, or a stroke, or other causes which may include genetic mutations, toxins, chemicals, and viruses. Neurodegenerative diseases can be induced by various neurotoxic events, such as excessive inflammation, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, and mitochondrial dysfunctions. The main symptoms associated with these disorders are related to movement (ataxia), mental functioning (dementia), or both, causing morbidity and death, thus having social and economic implications. The available treatments for these disorders provide only symptomatic relief, such as extending the lifespan to a few years. Still, a lot of research is in progress to find therapeutic markers for such diseases, as the complexity of the pathophysiology of neurodegenerative diseases and the underlying cell interactions is often imperfectly understood, limiting the development of therapeutic approaches (Khan et al., 2020). These physical constraints and the lack of specificity of current pharmacological approaches explain why most drugs and neurosurgical procedures have not been effective in the treatment of central nervous system disorders. As examples, pharmaceutical drugs used as treatment for Alzheimer’s disease have low effects and those for Parkinson’s disease loses their activity in a few years.