AIDSWEEKLY Plus; Monday, May 4, 2009
Staff Medical Writers

NewsRx --

2009 MAY 4 - (NewsRx.com) -- "Although numerous drugs are used to treat HIV infection with increasing efficacy, the patient's brain is often infected by the virus and acts as a sanctuary where drugs cannot penetrate due to their low passage through the blood brain barrier. Therefore, the design of new medicine able to reach the brain is extemely challenging," scientists in Chatenay-Malabry, France report (see also HIV/AIDS).

"An approach based on prodrug synthesis and encapsulation into PEGylated nanocarriers was proposed and applied to didanosine, a nucleosidic analogue used to treat HIV-1 associated dementia. In this study, appropriate formulations of PEGylated liposomes were designed to incorporate two glycerolipidic prodrugs of didanosine. Preparation methods based on Bangham's or emulsion/evaporation techniques formulations exhibited particle size under 300 nm with high incorporation of prodrugs as shown by light scattering, optical microscopy experiments and differential scanning calorimetry. Finally the uptake of fluorescently labeled PEGylated formulations by rat brain immortalized endothelial cells modeling the BBB was evidence by confocal laser scanning microscopy," wrote J. Bourgeois and colleagues, University of Paris.

The researchers concluded: "All the results suggest that the encapsulation of didanosine prodrugs into PEGylated liposomes is a promising approach in the goal increasing didanosine concentration in the brain and treating HIV-1-associated dementia."

Bourgeois and colleagues published their study in the Journal of Drug Delivery Science and Technology (Formulation of glycerolipidic prodrugs into PEGylated liposomes for brain delivery. Journal of Drug Delivery Science and Technology, 2009;19(1):61-66).

For additional information, contact K. Andrieux, University of Paris Sud, CNRS, UMR 8612, Faculty Pharmacy, Avenue J-B Clement, F-92296 Chatenay Malabry, France.

The publisher's contact information for the Journal of Drug Delivery Science and Technology is: Editions Sante, 47 Rue Galilee, 75116 Paris, France.

Keywords: France, Chatenay-Malabry, HIV/AIDS, AIDS, Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, Biotechnology, Central Nervous System Disease, Dementia, Didanosine, Drug Delivery, Drug Development, Drugs, Gene Therapy, HIV, Human Immunodeficiency Virus, Human Immunodeficiency Virus Neurological Disorder, Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitor, Pharmaceuticals, Prodrug, Treatment, Virology, University of Paris.

This article was prepared by AIDS Weekly editors from staff and other reports.

2009-05-04
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