Vesicles: New Advances in the Treatment of Neurodegenerative Diseases

Neurodegenerative diseases are characterized by brain lesions that limit normal daily activities and represent a major challenge to healthcare systems worldwide, with a significant economic impact. Nanotechnology is the science of manipulating matter at the nanoscale, where materials exhibit unique properties that are significantly different from their larger counterparts. These properties can be exploited for a wide range of applications, including medicine. Among the emerging therapeutic approaches for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, nanotechnologies are gaining prominence as a promising avenue to explore. Here, we review the state of the art of biological and artificial vesicles and their biological properties in the context of neurodegenerative diseases. Indeed, nanometric structures such as extracellular vesicles and artificial vesicles represent a promising tool for the treatment of such disorders due to their size, biocompatibility, and ability to transport drugs, proteins, and genetic material across the blood-brain barrier to target specific cells and brain areas. In the future, a deeper and broader synergy between materials science, bioengineering, biology, medicine, and the discovery of new, increasingly powerful delivery systems will certainly enable a more applied use of nanotechnology in the treatment of brain disorders.