This review aims to provide an updated overview of nanoparticle-based drug delivery strategies and emerging nanotheranostic applications for Alzheimer’s Disease. It is the most common cause of dementia worldwide and represents a major global health challenge due to its progressive neurodegeneration and multifactorial pathology, including amyloid-β plaque deposition, tau hyperphosphorylation, neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, and blood-brain barrier dysfunction. Despite extensive research efforts, currently approved pharmacological therapies, such as cholinesterase inhibitors and NMDA receptor antagonists, offer only temporary symptomatic relief and do not prevent disease progression. Moreover, these treatments often suffer from limited blood-brain barrier penetration, rapid systemic clearance, and undesirable side effects. Recently approved monoclonal antibodies targeting amyloid-β have generated clinical interest; however, their therapeutic benefit remains modest and is accompanied by high costs and potential safety concerns. Nanomedicine has emerged as a promising strategy to overcome these limitations by enabling targeted drug delivery to the brain, improved bioavailability, and controlled therapeutic release. Various nanoparticle platforms—including lipid-based systems such as liposomes, solid lipid nanoparticles, and nanostructured lipid carriers, as well as polymeric nanoparticles based on PLGA, PEG, and chitosan—have demonstrated significant potential for enhancing drug stability, blood-brain barrier transport, and sustained delivery. Furthermore, the development of nanotheranostic systems integrating diagnostic imaging with therapeutic delivery offers new opportunities for real-time monitoring of treatment response. Collectively, these advances highlight the potential of nanotechnology to improve therapeutic outcomes and support future clinical translation in Alzheimer’s Disease management.
Bhukta et al. (Thu,) studied this question.