title: Solid lipid nanoparticles: could they help to improve the efficacy of pharmacologic treatments for brain tumors?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Brain malignant neoplasms are still characterized by poor prognosis due to their peculiar hallmarks that severely limit aggressive multimodal therapeutic approaches. The optimization of the intratumoral drug delivery, directed to achieve effective concentrations and to reduce systemic undesired toxicity, is one of the primary goals of the brain tumors therapeutic strategies. Different passive and active delivery carriers allowing to a better control of drug distribution, metabolism, and elimination after parenteral administration have been developed. In the present review we will describe general characteristics and evaluate the efficacy of Solid Lipid Nanoparticles (SLN) as carriers of different drugs in experimental brain malignant tumor therapy.
  
  
  METHODS
  SLN vehiculating different illustrative types of antineoplastic agents (conventional cytotoxic drugs such as doxorubicin and paclitaxel, the prodrug Cholesteryl butyrate, and anti VEGF antisense oligonucleotides) have been tested in experimental animal models of cerebral gliomas.
  
  
  RESULTS
  SLN proved to successfully vehiculate into the brain different types of cytotoxic and gene therapeutical agents (otherwise unable to pass through the Blood-Brain Barrier) and to induce effective anti-tumoral therapeutical response.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Compared to other vehicules, SLN seem to offer more advantages (such as higher physical stability, greater protection from degradation and better release profile of incorporated drugs, good tolerability and possibility of site-specific targeting) and could be regarded as an effective carrier for chemotherapeutic drugs, gene therapeutical agents, and diagnostic tools in neuro-oncology.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Neurorehabilitation, IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Piancavallo (VB), Italy. a.brioschi@auxologico.it
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Brioschi
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zenga
authors.forename: Gian Paolo
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Zara
authors.forename: Maria Rosa
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Gasco
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ducati
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mauro
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems; D006801:Humans; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents