Nanoparticles Deliver Drug to Atherosclerotic Plaques
Nanoparticles have been used to deliver a drug, fumagillin, that targets atherosclerotic plaques in rabbits and stops the growth of blood vessels that deliver nutrients, fats, and cells to the plaques to enable them to grow. Because these microscopic spheres can be detected via MRI, doctors can be sure that they’ve reached the treatment zone.
Dr. Patrick Winter:
Fumagillin can have neurocognitive side effects, causing injury to the brain at high doses. The ability of the nanoparticles to concentrate the drug at the disease site allows the dose to be lowered. This could open the door for a lot of drugs that have failed to be approved because they caused too many side effects at a higher dose. It might pay to look at these drugs again and ask if placing them on these nanoparticles can help them be effective at a lower dose and clinically useful.
Very sci-fi! Has anyone read Michael Crichton’s Prey?
EurekAlert, July 27, 2006
Image from NCI Alliance for Nanotechnology in Cancer
Technorati Tags: fumagillin, atherosclerosis, cardiovascular disease, cvd, rabbits, nanoparticles, nanotechnology
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POSTED IN: Hearty Research
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