In an era wherein nanotechnology has sparked a huge research interest, brain drug delivery is not an exception. Aiming at fighting several central nervous system (CNS) conditions, tailored nanoparticles open new avenues to address several challenges in the fields of drug delivery and brain targeting. This book gathers contributions from experts in different, complementary fields, having in common their interest in developing new strategies for brain delivery based on nanotechnologies. The book encompasses general aspects pertaining to fundamental development, including tripartite in silico-in vitro-in vivo approaches. It also covers a diversity of nanomedicines applied in treatment and/or diagnosis and monitoring of CNS disorders. Aspects concerning their translation from the bench to clinical practice are also seamlessly discussed. This book will inspire readers to discover possible approaches to holistically delivering drugs into the brain. Edited by Carla Vitorino, Andreia Jorge and Alberto Pais, this book will appeal to anyone involved in nanomedicine, pharmaceutics, neurological and cancer therapies, drug delivery research and computational and regulatory sciences.

This book presents an overview of recent developments for an "old drug", simvastatin. It belongs to the class of statins, the most commonly prescribed drugs for the treatment of dyslipidemia or related diseases, being considered of superior effectiveness for that purpose. Now, millions of patients benefit from the use of simvastatin in preventing coronary heart disease (25 million in 2005 in the United States alone). Additionally, simvastatin has been recently identified as a multifaceted drug, addressing different physiological and pathological conditions, thus extending beyond the conventional cholesterol-dependent mechanisms. It has triggered the development of new strategies in order to promote the respective delivery through novel routes of administration. In this book, a comprehensive selection of topics is presented, encompassing aspects that firstly include chemical synthesis, pharmacology and pharmacoeconomics. In the second part, several delivery systems for new therapeutic areas are explored. These comprise of nanoemulsions administered through the parenteral route, nanostructured lipid carriers for transdermal delivery and supramolecular systems for local applications. Cancer therapy and bone regeneration are some of the therapeutic targets addressed along with the classical treatment of hypercholesterolemia, now in drug combination therapies. This book benefits from the participation of recognised experts from different areas. These include researchers from pharmaceutical technology, pharmacology, synthetic chemistry, and members of regulatory boards.