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Next-generation pediatric care: nanotechnology-based and AI-driven solutions for cardiovascular, respiratory, and
Waldenice de Alencar Morais Lima1, Jackson G de Souza2, Fátima García-Villén3
1Laboratory of Galenic Pharmacy, Department of Pharmacy, Federal University of Rio Grande Do Norte, Natal, 59012-570, Brazil.
Insights
Pediatric drug formulation faces challenges, but nanotechnology, tissue engineering, and AI offer innovative solutions for treating children's respiratory, cardiac, and gastrointestinal disorders. These advancements promise improved therapeutic efficacy and personalized medicine.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Therapeutics
- Nanomedicine
- Biotechnology
Background:
- Significant morbidity and mortality in pediatric and neonatal populations stem from challenges in therapeutic management.
- Lack of suitable pediatric drug formulations leads to "therapeutic orphans," with drugs used off-label, increasing toxicity risks.
- Heterogeneity in pediatric age groups, limited industry profitability, and ethical constraints hinder drug development for children.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore innovative strategies for addressing therapeutic challenges in pediatric and neonatal care.
- To highlight promising advancements in drug delivery and treatment modalities for pediatric diseases.
- To identify emerging technologies that can improve the efficacy and safety of pediatric therapeutics.
Main Methods:
- Review of up-to-date peer-reviewed journal articles, books, government reports, and data repositories.
- Analysis of emerging strategies in pediatric drug formulation and delivery.
- Focus on nanotechnology, tissue engineering, theranostics, drug repurposing, and artificial intelligence.
Main Results:
- Nanotechnology shows promise for non-invasive, site-specific drug release in pediatric respiratory diseases.
- Tissue engineering and theranostic systems are highlighted for pediatric cardiac diseases.
- Integration of nanotechnology with theranostics and the use of AI with drug repurposing can personalize pediatric drug delivery and development.
Conclusions:
- Advancements in nanotechnology, tissue engineering, and AI integration represent key strategies in pediatric therapeutics.
- These evolving techniques offer potential solutions to the long-standing challenges in pediatric drug formulation and treatment.
- Continued innovation in these areas is crucial for improving health outcomes for children and newborns.
Background:
Global pediatric healthcare reveals significant morbidity and mortality rates linked to respiratory, cardiac, and gastrointestinal disorders in children and newborns, mostly due to the complexity of therapeutic management in pediatrics and neonatology, owing to the lack of suitable dosage forms for these patients, often rendering them "therapeutic orphans". The development and application of pediatric drug formulations encounter numerous challenges, including physiological heterogeneity within age groups, limited profitability for the pharmaceutical industry, and ethical and clinical constraints. Many drugs are used unlicensed or off-label, posing a high risk of toxicity and reduced efficacy. Despite these circumstances, some regulatory changes are being performed, thus thrusting research innovation in this field.
Data Sources:
Up-to-date peer-reviewed journal articles, books, government and institutional reports, data repositories and databases were used as main data sources.
Results:
Among the main strategies proposed to address the current pediatric care situation, nanotechnology is specially promising for pediatric respiratory diseases since they offer a non-invasive, versatile, tunable, site-specific drug release. Tissue engineering is in the spotlight as strategy to address pediatric cardiac diseases, together with theragnostic systems. The integration of nanotechnology and theragnostic stands poised to refine and propel nanomedicine approaches, ushering in an era of innovative and personalized drug delivery for pediatric patients. Finally, the intersection of drug repurposing and artificial intelligence tools in pediatric healthcare holds great potential. This promises not only to enhance efficiency in drug development in general, but also in the pediatric field, hopefully boosting clinical trials for this population.
Conclusions:
Despite the long road ahead, the deepening of nanotechnology, the evolution of tissue engineering, and the combination of traditional techniques with artificial intelligence are the most recently reported strategies in the specific field of pediatric therapeutics.
