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Volume 8
Journal of Alzheimers Disease & Parkinsonism
ISSN: 2161-0460
Vascular Dementia 2018
February 22-23, 2018
Page 21
Notes:
conference
series
.com
10
th
International Conference on
February 22-23, 2018 | Paris, France
Vascular Dementia
Jagdish Singh, J Alzheimers Dis Parkinsonism 2018, Volume 8
DOI: 10.4172/2161-0460-C1-035
Challenges and opportunities for drug discovery for neurodegenerative diseases
N
eurodegenerative diseases have become the most common cause of dementia among the elderly. There were 36 million
people living with dementia worldwide in 2010, increasing to 66 million by 2030 and 115 million by 2050. In 2010, the
global cost of dementia was $604 billion. This is 1% of global GDP and it is likely that these costs will increase in proportion
to the number of people with dementia. Gene therapy has been identified to possess a broad potential for the treatment
of numerous neurological diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease (AD). AD is a progressive neurodegenerative disease and
the most common form of dementia caused by accumulation of toxic amyloid-β (Aβ) peptides in the brain, in which the
development of effective therapies have been desired. However, the major challenge in the field of gene therapy is the design
of safe vectors that can cross the blood brain barrier (BBB). It has been found that the transferrin receptors are present on
the surface of brain endothelial cells. The liposomes, lipid based nanoparticles, can be surface modified with transferrin (Tf)
protein for targeting the brain endothelial receptors and conjugated to cell penetrating peptide (CPP) for improving their
internalization into brain by overcoming receptor saturation. In order to deliver gene/drug across the BBB, we conjugated the
liposomes with two ligands (1) a receptor targeting protein (Tf) and (2) a CPP. Thus, we designed near-neutral, PEGylated
liposomal nanoparticles encapsulating gene and drug and modifying the surface with Tf and CPP. Findings of in vitro
characterization and in vivo bio-distribution will be discussed.
Biography
Jagdish Singh is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at NDSU College of Pharmacy, North Dakota and a Fellow of American Association
of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) and Fellow of Association of Biotechnology and Pharmacy. His efforts focus on the mechanistic studies for developing and testing
novel delivery technologies to deliver biotechnologically derived molecules (e.g., peptide, protein, and gene). He has published over 150 peer-reviewed papers and 270
abstracts.
jagdish.singh@ndsu.eduJagdish Singh
North Dakota State University, USA