About this Research Topic

Background

Neurodegenerative, neuropsychiatric, and neurotraumatic illnesses impose a heavy burden on people’s health and quality of life. Neuronal cell damage, occurring from oxidative stress, inflammation and other molecular aetiologies, contributes to chronic and acute neurological ailments and requires neurotherapeutic intervention.
These disorders are complex and challenging, and many of the synthetic chemicals used to treat them are associated with side effects.
Synthetic, semisynthetic and natural compounds are known to exhibit neuroprotective activities, and the molecular mechanisms behind the curative effects of these compounds rely largely on subsiding oxidative stress, neuro-inflammation and signal transduction pathways related to protein folding. However, these advantageous effects are associated with certain side effects as well. The mitigation or reduction of these toxicities represents the starting point in designing new formulations. Research on neuroprotection involving the utilization of safer nano-medicine specifically is a cutting-edge approach.

Nanotechnology-based approaches have established neural drug delivery platforms for the effective treatment of neurodegenerative disorders. Higher stability, higher drug loading capacity, the ability to incorporate both hydrophilic and hydrophobic compounds, and flexibility in being administered via different channels (including oral applications), are key traits for nano drug delivery systems. Additionally, it is possible to control drug release from the matrix/carriers with novel nano-formulations. These characteristics make it possible to increase the bioavailability of drugs, decrease dosing frequency and dose content, and thus eliminate dose-dependent toxicity.

The goal of this research topic is to provide recent advances and challenges in novel therapeutic strategies for the mitigation of neurological disorders with the application of nano-formulation based on synthetic, semisynthetic and natural compounds. This will provide more robust knowledge to neuroscientists, physicians, ethnopharmacologists and researchers from academia and industry for future research.

We welcome submissions of original research articles, reviews, mini reviews, letters, brief research report/data report, perspective, and communications related to the research theme.

Potential research topics include but are not limited to:

• Nano-formulations: recent trends and beneficial effects on neurological disorders
• Drug discovery and evaluation of novel compounds identified as neuro-protectives
• Nanotechnology application with improved neuroprotective activity, stability and targeted delivery
• Molecular mechanism of action of neuroprotective compounds formulated as nano-medicine
• Comparison of conventional and nanotechnology-based formulations of neuroprotective compounds
• Applications of nanotechnology in drug development for neurological disorders
• Future trends and directives for research on nano-formulations in neurological diseases


All manuscripts dealing with extracts must comply with the guidelines of the section Ethnopharmacology - the Four Pillars of Best Practice in Ethnopharmacology (see here for further information).

Keywords: Drug Discovery, Nano formulations, Nanotechnology, Neurological Disorders, Pharmacological Evaluation

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