Title:Neuropathic Pain and Lung Delivery of Nanoparticulate Drugs: An Emerging Novel Therapeutic Strategy
Volume: 16
Issue: 3
Author(s): Nazrul Islam, Muzaffar Abbas and Shafiqur Rahman*
Affiliation:
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, South Dakota State University, 1055 Campanile Avenue, Avera Health and Science Center, SAV 265, Brookings, SD 57007,United States
Keywords:
Drug delivery, drug development, drug targets, lungs, neurological disorder, neuropathic pain, pharmacotherapy.
Abstract: Neuropathic pain is a chronic neurological disorder affecting millions of people around the
world. The currently available pharmacologic agents for the treatment of neuropathic pain have limited
efficacy and are associated with dose related unwanted adverse effects. Due to the limited access of
drug molecules across blood-brain barrier, a small percentage of drug that is administered systematically,
reaches the central nervous system in active form. These therapeutic agents also require daily
treatment regimen that is inconvenient and potentially impact patient compliance. Application of
nanoparticulate drugs for enhanced delivery system has been explored extensively in the last decades.
Pulmonary delivery of nanomedicines for the management of various diseases has become an emerging
treatment strategy that ensures the targeted delivery of drugs both for systemic and local effects with
low dose and limited adverse effects. To the best of our knowledge, there are no inhaled drug products
available on market for the treatment of neuropathic pain. The advantages of delivering therapeutics
into deep lungs include non-invasive drug delivery, higher bioavailability with low dose, lower systemic
toxicity, and potentially greater blood-brain barrier penetration. This review discusses and highlights the
important issues on the application of emerging nanoparticulate lung delivery of drugs for the effective
treatment of neuropathic pain.
