Extracellular vesicles-based theranostics for neurodegenerative diseases.

Area of Science:

• Nanomedicine
• Neurological Disease
• Biomarkers

Background:

• Global population aging increases neurodegenerative disease (NDD) incidence.
• Blood-brain barrier (BBB) limits diagnosis and drug delivery for NDDs.
• Extracellular vesicles (EVs) can cross the BBB, offering diagnostic and therapeutic potential.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the role of EVs in NDD diagnosis and treatment.
• To discuss current research progress on EVs for NDDs.
• To highlight EVs as diagnostic biomarkers and drug delivery systems for NDDs.

Main Methods:

• Review of scientific literature on extracellular vesicles and neurodegenerative diseases.
• Analysis of EV properties for crossing the blood-brain barrier.
• Evaluation of EVs as biomarkers and drug carriers for NDDs.

Main Results:

• Brain-derived EVs contain disease-specific biomolecules for early NDD diagnosis.
• Exosomes, particularly from stem cells, show therapeutic potential for NDDs.
• EVs can be functionalized for targeted drug delivery across the BBB.

Conclusions:

• EVs are crucial for advancing NDD diagnosis and treatment.
• EVs offer a promising platform for early detection and targeted therapy of NDDs.
• Further research into EV-based nanomedicine can overcome BBB challenges in NDDs.