Abstract

ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE: AN INTRODUCTION TO THE THERAPEUTIC ROLE OF METAL CHELATORS COUPLED WITH NANOPARTICLES

*Sanjukta Misra

Abstract

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a devastating neurodegenerative disease with progressive and irreversible damage to thought, memory, and language. The ravaging effects of the disease call for efforts to prevent, forestall, and reverse the disease. Unfortunately, despite much interest, currently available FDA-approved drugs target towards managing cognitive symptoms and fall tremendously sort as adequate means of therapeutic management. Although the etiology of AD is incompletely understood, great effort has been made to better understand the disease’s pathogenesis and to develop more effective therapeutic agent. Oxidative damage mediated by metals is likely a significant contributor since metal such as iron, aluminium, zinc, and copper are increased in brain tissue of AD patients and create a prooxidative environment. This metal dysregulation may represent a therapeutic target for AD. Metal chelation therapy through the use of nanoparticles, an alternative means of drug delivery to brain, is highlighted here, which may provide insights into the mechanisms of AD pathophysiology and may prove useful in treating metal-associated neurodegenerative diseases. However this promising approach is at its very early stage of development and, therefore more studies should be undertaken to demonstrate the protective efficacy of the chelator-nanoparticle systems and to evaluate their toxicity and to optimize their capability to cross the blood brain barrier.

Keywords: Neurodegenerative, metal chelation, nanoparticles, blood brain barrier.