Prospects for polymer therapeutics in Parkinson's disease and other neurodegenerative disorders

Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by a progressive loss of dopaminergic neurons and represents a growing health burden to western societies. Like many neurodegenerative disorders the cause is unknown, however, as the pathogenesis becomes ever more elucidated, it is becoming clear that effective delivery is a key issue for new therapeutics. The versatility of today's polymerization techniques allows the synthesis of a wide range of polymer materials which hold great potential to aid in the delivery of small molecules, proteins, genetic material or cells. In this review, we capture the recent advances in polymer based therapeutics of the central nervous system (CNS). We place the advances in historical context and, furthermore, provide future prospects in line with newly discovered advancements in the understanding of PD and other neurodegenerative disorders. This review provides researchers in the field of polymer chemistry and materials science an up-to-date understanding of the requirements placed upon materials designed for use in the CNS aiding the focus of polymer therapeutic design. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.