The translocation of viruses, metal oxides and carbon ultrafine particles via olfactory receptor neurons, the olfactory bulb, and finally to neuroanatomically connected central brain regions has been described in various studies for several decades. With the advent of nanotechnology researches and drug-developer tried to exploit this „direct“ pathway to the brain to deliver pharmaceuticals directly into the central nervous system. This development was especially driven by drug-development for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. Until now only a few clinical trials have been conducted in this area and all of them used nanocarriers that were designed for the systemic application of the drug.
- In the workshop after Dr. Yokels keynote, we will discuss:
- Possible transport pathways from nose-to-brain
- Promising nanomaterials
- Imaging techniques in humans
- Neurotoxicity of Nanomaterials in the brain
- From rodents to man, limitations of pre-clinical animal models
Dr. van Thriel provide short summaries for the topics mentioned above and together with Dr. Yokel and Dr. Boyes the participants will discuss if intranasal pathways are really a promising tool to deliver drugs directly into the brain.