Multifaceted nanoparticles: emerging mechanisms and therapies in neurodegenerative diseases

Neurodegenerative diseases are a major global health burden particularly with the increasing ageing population. Hereditary predisposition and environmental risk factors contribute to the heterogeneity of existing pathological phenotypes. Traditional clinical interventions focused on the use of small drugs have often led to failures due to the difficulties of crossing the bloodbrain- barrier and reaching brain. In this regard, nanosystems can specifically deliver drugs and improve their bioavailability, overcoming some of the major challenges in neurodegenerative diseases treatment. This review focuses on the use of nanosystems as an encouraging therapeutic approach targeting molecular pathways involved in localized and systematic neurodegenerative diseases. Among this latter, Friedreich's ataxia is an untreatable complex multisystemic disorder and the most spread type of ataxia, that represents a test case to validate the clinical potential of therapeutic strategies based on nanoparticles with pleiotropic effects.