Development of a liposomal drug delivery system for the treatment of ischemic stroke

Abstract

Ischemic stroke is a high-mortality disease and a leading cause of neurological disability. Tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) is the only therapeutic agent used worldwide for the treatment of acute ischemic stroke; however, the proportion of patients given t-PA is limited. Thus, the development of an effective neuroprotective agent is urgently required. It has been reported that, under ischemic stroke conditions, the vascular permeability of the blood-brain barrier is increased around the ischemic core region. Our previous investigation of this phenomenon revealed that drug delivery using liposomes is applicable in the ischemic state and at an early stage after reperfusion, and that intravenous administration of liposomal neuroprotectants is effective for the treatment of cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury in a rat ischemic stroke model. In this review, we summarize our recent findings on the treatment of ischemic stroke using liposomal DDS.