New non-oral drug delivery systems for Parkinson's disease treatment

Parkinson's disease (PD) remains the only neurodegenerative disorder for which there are highly effective symptomatic therapies, but still unmet needs regarding its long-term management. Levodopa (LD) remains the most effective treatment; however, chronic use is associated with potentially disabling motor complications.

This review highlights a variety of new non-oral drug delivery strategies for non-invasive and invasive routes of drug administration for the treatment of PD. It also includes current and future trends of liposomes, solid lipid nanoparticles and biocompatible microparticles as new non-oral drug delivery systems.

The long-term complications and limitations of LD treatment might be improved by changing therapy from the present pulsatile stimulation to a more constant stimulation of central dopamine receptors. Stimulation of these receptors may be possible with a new non-oral drug delivery system, with the aim of achieving long-lasting and less fluctuating drug levels, minimization of peak levels and thereby reduction of side effects.