CNS Drug Delivery: Recent Advances and Challenges

A special issue of Pharmaceutics (ISSN 1999-4923). This special issue belongs to the section "Drug Delivery and Controlled Release".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2025 | Viewed by 784

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Guest Editor
Department of Medical Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Toyama, 2630 Sugitani, Toyama 930-0194, Japan
Interests: nasal formulation; nasal drug delivery; mucosal absorption; CNS drug delivery; brain drug targeting; neuroinflammation; neuropathic pain; neurodegenerative diseases; sleep cycle; chronopharmacology; circadian rhythm
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The central nervous system (CNS) consists of the brain and spinal cord. It is a critical target for treating various neurological disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, etc. However, physiological barriers, especially the blood-brain barrier (BBB), pose a significant challenge for drug delivery to the CNS, limiting the efficacy of many therapeutic agents.

This Special Issue aims to focus on the latest developments and challenges in CNS drug delivery, including, but not limited to, novel drug delivery systems, nanotechnology, formulations, and targeted drug delivery strategies. We welcome the submission of articles related to CNS drug delivery and invite researchers to publish their original research or review articles.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Daisuke Inoue
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • CNS drug delivery
  • blood–brain barrier
  • nanotechnology
  • targeted delivery

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

13 pages, 6870 KiB  
Article
Intra-Arterial Super-Selective Delivery of Yttrium-90 for the Treatment of Recurrent Glioblastoma: In Silico Proof of Concept with Feasibility and Safety Analysis
by Giulia Paolani, Silvia Minosse, Silvia Strolin, Miriam Santoro, Noemi Pucci, Francesca Di Giuliano, Francesco Garaci, Letizia Oddo, Yosra Toumia, Eugenia Guida, Francesco Riccitelli, Giulia Perilli, Alessandra Vitaliti, Angelico Bedini, Susanna Dolci, Gaio Paradossi, Fabio Domenici, Valerio Da Ros and Lidia Strigari
Pharmaceutics 2025, 17(3), 345; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics17030345 - 7 Mar 2025
Viewed by 514
Abstract
Background: Intra-arterial cerebral infusion (IACI) of radiotherapeutics is a promising treatment for glioblastoma (GBM) recurrence. We investigated the in silico feasibility and safety of Yttrium-90-Poly(vinyl alcohol)-Microbubble (90Y-PVA-MB) IACI in patients with recurrent GBM and compared the results with those of [...] Read more.
Background: Intra-arterial cerebral infusion (IACI) of radiotherapeutics is a promising treatment for glioblastoma (GBM) recurrence. We investigated the in silico feasibility and safety of Yttrium-90-Poly(vinyl alcohol)-Microbubble (90Y-PVA-MB) IACI in patients with recurrent GBM and compared the results with those of external beam radiation therapy (EBRT). Methods: Contrast-enhanced T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (T1W-MRI) was used to delineate the tumor volumes and CT scans were used to automatically segment the organs at risk in nine patients with recurrent GBM. Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy (VMAT) treatment plans were generated using a clinical treatment planning system. Assuming the relative intensity of each voxel from the MR-T1W as a valid surrogate for the post-IACI 90Y-PVA-MB distribution, a specific 90Y dose voxel kernel was obtained through Monte Carlo (MC) simulations and convolved with the MRI, resulting in a 90Y-PVA-MB-based dose distribution that was then compared with the VMAT plans. Results: The physical dose distribution obtained from the simulation of 1GBq of 90Y-PVA-MBs was rescaled to ensure that 95% of the prescribed dose was delivered to 95% or 99% of the target (i.e., A95% and A99%, respectively). The calculated activities were A95% = 269.2 [63.6–2334.1] MBq and A99% = 370.6 [93.8–3315.2] MBq, while the mean doses to the target were 58.2 [58.0–60.0] Gy for VMAT, and 123.1 [106.9–153.9] Gy and 170.1 [145.9–223.8] Gy for A95% and A99%, respectively. Additionally, non-target brain tissue was spared in the 90Y-PVA-MB treatment compared to the VMAT approach, with a median [range] of mean doses of 12.5 [12.0–23.0] Gy for VMAT, and 0.6 [0.2–1.0] Gy and 0.9 [0.3–1.5] Gy for the 90Y treatments assuming A95% and A99%, respectively. Conclusions: 90Y-PVA-MB IACI using MR-T1W appears to be feasible and safe, as it enables the delivery of higher doses to tumors and lower doses to non-target volumes compared to the VMAT approach. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue CNS Drug Delivery: Recent Advances and Challenges)
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