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Review
. 2025 Mar;20(6):603-619.
doi: 10.1080/17435889.2025.2461984. Epub 2025 Feb 18.

Recent advances in nanotherapeutics for HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders and substance use disorders

Christia Lomas  1 , Ravi Chandra Dubey  2 , Gabriela Perez-Alvarez  2 , Yesenia Lopez Hernandez  2 , Aorzala Atmar  1 , Adriana Yndart Arias  2 , Atul Vashist  3   4 , Saurabh Aggarwal  2 , Pandiaraj Manickam  5   6 , Madepalli Krishnappa Lakshmana  2 , Arti Vashist  2
Affiliations
Review

Recent advances in nanotherapeutics for HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders and substance use disorders

Christia Lomas et al. Nanomedicine (Lond). 2025 Mar.

Abstract

Substance use disorders (SUD) and HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND) work synergistically as a significant cause of cognitive decline in adults and adolescents globally. Current therapies continue to be limited due to difficulties crossing the blood-brain barrier (BBB) leading to limited precision and effectiveness, neurotoxicity, and lack of co-treatment options for both HAND and SUD. Nanoparticle-based therapeutics have several advantages over conventional therapies including more precise targeting, the ability to cross the BBB, and high biocompatibility which decreases toxicity and optimizes sustainability. These advantages extend to other neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's disease (AD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). This review summarizes recent advances in nanotechnology for application to HAND, SUD, and co-treatment, as well as other neurological disorders. This review also highlights the potential challenges these therapies face in clinical translation and long-term safety.

Keywords: HIV; dementia; exosomes; liposomes; nanoparticles; opioids; substance; tobacco.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties. No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.

Figures

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Graphical abstract
Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Global HIV prevalence by year.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
HIV prevalence by region.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
The neurological effects of various substance use disorders on hiv-associated neurocognitive disorder risk.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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