Nanoparticles in the treatment of chronic lung diseases

Abstract

Nanoparticles, although considered a topic of modern medicine, actually have an interesting history. Currently, advances in nanomedicine hold great promise as drug carrier systems for sustained release and targeted delivery of diverse therapeutic agents. Nanoparticles can be defined as complex drug carrier systems which incorporate and protect a certain drug or particle. Nanoparticles can be administered via different routes, such as intravenous injection, oral administration, or pulmonary inhalation. Even though the use of nano-carriers via pulmonary inhalation is heavily debated, this system represents an attractive alternative to the intravenous or oral routes, due to the unique anatomical and physiological features of the lungs and the minimal interactions between the targeted site and other organs. Some of the widely used nano-carriers for the treatment of chronic pulmonary diseases, via pulmonary route, are as follows: polymeric nanoparticles, liposomal nano-carriers, solid lipid nanoparticles, and submicron emulsions. Nanocarrier systems provide the advantage of sustained-drug release in the lung tissue resulting in reduced dosing frequency and improved patient compliance. Further studies focusing on understanding the mechanisms of action of nanoparticles and improving their chemical structure are required in order to better understand the potential long-term risk of excipient toxicity and nanoscale carriers.

Neuromuscular electrostimulation as an adjuvant therapy to pulmonary rehabilitation programs in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

“…COPD is a disorder characterized by chronic incomplete reversible airway limitation (11)(12). During the chronic evolution of this disease, patients develop dyspnoea, fatigue, limited exercise capacity, symptoms that will lead to a vicious circle of sedentary lifestyle -deconditioning -muscular dysfunction (13,14) Muscle weakness is independent of airflow obstruction severity of and is a significant risk factor for falls in this population (15)(16).…”

Antioxidant Nanotherapies for the Treatment of Inflammatory Diseases

“…Oxidative stress and inflammation play an important role in the pathogenesis of asthma. Growing evidence has indicated that nanoparticle-based anti-inflammation and antioxidant strategies are promising for the treatment of allergic airway inflammation and asthma (Fatani, 2014;Sahiner et al, 2018;Alexescu et al, 2019;. The anti-asthmatic effects of two organic nanoparticles, i.e., BRNPs and HPOX nanoparticles with intrinsic antioxidant activity were evaluated using a murine model of asthma (Yoo et al, 2013;Kim D. E. et al, 2017).…”

The efficacy of pulmonary rehabilitation in improving the clinical status in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

“…COPD is a frequent comorbidity in patients with IPF and the rehabilitation programs have proven their efficacy. In these subjects, there were improvements in dyspnea, functional exercise-capacity (measured by 6MWT) and health-related quality of life (44,48). Despite the fact that the mechanism of exercise intolerance differs between COPD and IPF, the rehabilitation therapies approved for COPD patients are effective to achieve a suitable exercise capacity in patients with IPF.…”