Intrathecal pseudodelivery of drugs is a novel route to administer medications to treat neurodegenerative diseases based on the CSF-sink therapeutic strategy by means of implantable devices. While the development of this therapy is still in the preclinical stage, it offers promising advantages over traditional routes of drug delivery. In this paper, we describe the rationale of this system and provide a technical report on the mechanism of action, that relies on the use of nanoporous membranes enabling selective molecular permeability. On one side, the membranes do not permit the crossing of certain drugs; whereas, on the other side, they permit the crossing of target molecules present in the CSF. Target molecules, by binding drugs inside the system, are retained or cleaved and subsequently eliminated from the central nervous system. Finally, we provide a list of potential indications, the respective molecular targets, and the proposed therapeutic agents.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.