Nanomedicine strategies for treatment of secondary spinal cord injury

Abstract

Désirée White-Schenk,1,4 Riyi Shi,1–3 James F Leary1–4 1Interdisciplinary Biomedical Sciences Program, 2Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering, 3Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Lynn School of Veterinary Medicine, 4Birck Nanotechnology Center, Discovery Park, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA Abstract: Neurological injury, such as spinal cord injury, has a secondary injury associated with it. The secondary injury results from the biological cascade after the primary injury and affects previous uninjured, healthy tissue. Therefore, the mitigation of such a cascade would benefit patients suffering a primary injury and allow the body to recover more quickly. Unfortunately, the delivery of effective therapeutics is quite limited. Due to the inefficient delivery of therapeutic drugs, nanoparticles have become a major field of exploration for medical applications. Based on their material properties, they can help treat disease by delivering drugs to specific tissues, enhancing detection methods, or a mixture of both. Incorporating nanomedicine into the treatment of neuronal injury and disease would likely push nanomedicine into a new light. This review highlights the various pathological issues involved in secondary spinal cord injury, current treatment options, and the improvements that could be made using a nanomedical approach. Keywords: spinal cord injury, acrolein, drug delivery, methylprednisolone, secondary injury