Delivering
drugs and agents to the brain is a huge challenge, especially for
chronic neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease
(AD). For this, prolonged and sustained release methods to increase
brain uptake represent an impacting concept. The bioresorbable polymer
poly-lactic acid (PLA) has high potential for medical implants; at
the same time, glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) analogues have considerable
neuroprotective attributes and represent a therapeutic strategy for
AD. Here, a biodevice is produced by electrospinning PLA with a GLP-1
analogue (liraglutide, LG), coated with a thin layer of gelatin. The
biodevice is subcutaneously implanted in a transgenic mouse model
of AD and LG is released for 14 days in mice serum. After 4 weeks
of implantation, crucial hallmarks of the AD are highly diminished:
hippocampal senile amyloid β plaque load and neuroinflammatory
markers. Furthermore, neurogenesis is enhanced in the subventricular
zone, an important neurogenic niche in the brain. The designed biodevice
holds great promise for being an affordable candidate to act as a
prolonged drug provider, promoting LG mission through increasing its
lifetime, constituting a relevant approach for old and impaired brain.
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