Innovative nanotools for vascular drug delivery: the atherosclerosis case study

Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of mortality in the Western world. Among them, atherosclerosis represents one of the most common diseases in the modern society due to a common sedentary lifestyle, high-fat diet, and smoking. In the near future, a new approach could potentially improve the therapy of vascular pathologies, where to date the non-specific treatments present several limitations, such as poor biodistribution, quick elimination from the body, and undesired side-effects. In this field, nanotechnology has a great potential for the therapy and diagnosis of atherosclerosis with more and more recent and innovative publications. This review is a critical analysis of the results reported in the literature regarding the different and possible new approaches for the therapy and diagnosis of atherosclerosis.