Emerging Nanotechnology for the Treatment and Diagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease (PD) and Alzheimer’s Disease (AD)

Introduction: Parkinson’s disease (PD)Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease (AD)Alzheimer’s disease are neurodegenerative diseases distinguished by the aggregation of pathologic proteins leading to the respective onset of motor dysfunction and cognitive decline, particularly in memory. Emerging evidence showed that these misfolded proteins are prion-like seeds, which can induce endogenous protein aggregation and subsequent cell-to-cell, tissue-to-tissue transmission and propagation. The prion-like protein aggregation and spreading is accompanied by several other cellular phenomena including neurotoxicity, oxidative stressOxidative stress, and neuroinflammation. While traditional therapeutics have been largely unsuccessful in combatting PD and AD and their underlying pathophysiologyPathophysiology, the customizability, specificity, and efficiency of nanotechnologyNanotechnology presents a novel and promising avenue for the development of successful therapeutics. Methods: This chapter was written through a literature review sourced largely from PubMed and ScienceDirect with keywords of AD, PD, nanomaterialsNanomaterials, neuroinflammation, biosensing, oxidative stressOxidative stress, and fibrillization. Some of this chapter is based on the review “Emerging NanotechnologyNanotechnology for Treatment of Alzheimer’s andParkinson’s disease Parkinson’s Disease,” published in Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology. Results: A thorough review reveals preclinical studies show incredible promise in nanotechnologyNanotechnology as an effective combatant of neuroinflammation, protein aggregation, oxidative stressOxidative stress, and neuron death in AD and PD. However, clinical and longitudinal trials are still lacking; further research should be done to establish the safety and long-term side effects and efficacy of nanotechnologyNanotechnology-based therapeutics. Conclusions: Despite its increasing momentum, research in nanotechnologyNanotechnology for the treatment of AD and PD is still in its early stages. While proof of concept is established across several mechanisms of action, further research is necessary to establish clinically relevant information and further exploring regenerative and biosensing applications of nanotechnologyNanotechnology. Nevertheless, nanotechnologyNanotechnology presents an exciting new avenue for therapeutic development.