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Current Drug Metabolism

Editor-in-Chief

ISSN (Print): 1389-2002
ISSN (Online): 1875-5453

Review Article

Lipid Nanoformulations in the Treatment of Neuropsychiatric Diseases: An Approach to Overcome the Blood Brain Barrier

Author(s): Saleha Rehman, Bushra Nabi, Faheem Hyder Pottoo, Sanjula Baboota and Javed Ali*

Volume 21, Issue 9, 2020

Page: [674 - 684] Pages: 11

DOI: 10.2174/1573399816666200627214129

Price: $65

Abstract

Background: Neuropsychiatric diseases primarily characterized by dementia stand third in the global list of diseases causing disability. The poor water solubility, erratic oral absorption, low bioavailability, poor intestinal absorption, and the impeding action of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) are the major factors limiting the therapeutic feasibility of the antipsychotics. Only a small percentage of antipsychotics reaches the therapeutic target site, which warrants administration of high doses, consequently leading to unwanted side-effects. Hence the main struggle for the effective treatment of neuropsychiatric diseases occurs “at the gates” of the brain, which can be mitigated with the use of a nanotechnology-based platform.

Methods: The goal of this review is to undertake a comprehensive study about the role of lipid nanoformulations in facilitating the delivery of antipsychotics across BBB along with the available in vitro and in vivo evidence.

Results: Lipid nanoformulations have attained great popularity for the delivery of therapeutics into the brain. Their nanosize helps in overcoming the biological barriers, thereby providing easy BBB translocation of the drugs. Besides, they offer numerous advantages like controlled and targeted drug release, minimizing drug efflux, long storage stability, augmented bioavailability, and reduced adverse drug effects to attain an optimal therapeutic drug concentration in the brain. Moreover, employing alternative routes of administration has also shown promising results.

Conclusion: Thus, it can be concluded that the lipid nanoformulations bear immense potential in overcoming the challenges associated with the treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders. However, the area warrants further clinical studies to ensure their commercialization, which could revolutionize the treatment of neuropsychiatric diseases in the coming decades.

Keywords: Lipid nanoparticles, schizophrenia, nanostructured lipid carrier, solid lipid nanoparticles, nanoemulsion, bioavailability, brain delivery.

Graphical Abstract

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