Advances in Biomedical and Tissue Engineering Strategies to Cross the Blood–Brain Barrier for Next-Generation Treatments against Neurodegenerative Diseases

Dear Colleagues,

The global burden of neurological disorders, including, among others, Parkinson’s disease (PD), Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and other types of dementia, is rapidly growing at a worldwide level, representing an urgent global health challenge. With the aging population, the neurodegenerative disease-associated disability and mortality rates are expected to skyrocket dramatically over the next few decades if novel and effective cures are not available soon. Furthermore, with the aim of efficaciously treating any central nervous system (CNS) disease, from Alzheimer’s to Parkinson’s, one must address the issue of overcoming the blood–brain barrier (BBB), which represents the main obstacle for effective and safe drug delivery to the whole brain or to a specific area of interest. The BBB is indeed a protective yet semipermeable interface of the neurovascular unit that mediates communication between the CNS and peripheral one. As a matter of fact, because of this selective biological barrier, to reach a significant drug concentration at the site of action in the CNS, the administration of high and repeated doses of the therapeutic agent is needed, thereby causing possible harmful and undesired effects. Taking all of this into account, there is still an urgent need for more advanced, safe, and tailored treatment strategies. Thus, the development of a new generation of neuroprotective cures leveraging emerging nanotechnologies, smart pharmacological tools, and cutting-edge tissue engineering approaches for drug delivery across the BBB will represent a tremendous step forward in this appealing biomedical research field, and in turn, it may point the way to accelerating the development and approval of novel drugs. 

This Special Issue aims to collect original research articles and reviews on the state-of-the-art of novel therapeutic approaches for the prevention and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, with special attention to the most promising biomedical strategies to overcome the blood–brain barrier issue. Advances, progresses, and open challenges in the search for efficacious and safe cures against neurological disorders based on innovative tissue engineering strategies and nanotechnological solutions to circumvent the biological obstacle of the BBB will be the focus of interest in this Special Issue.

Dr. Manuele Gori
Dr. Livia La Barbera
Guest Editors

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• neurodegenerative diseases
• Alzheimer’s disease
• CNS
• blood–brain barrier
• drug delivery systems
• nanocarriers
• nanomedicine
• tissue engineering
• theranostics