The Potential of Mineralocorticoid Nanohydrogels as a Treatment for Metabolic Presbycusis

Background & Aims:Presbycusis is the most prevalent neurodegenerative disorder in the elderly and causes communication difficulty. Metabolic presbycusis is a type of presbycusis caused by degeneration of the stria vascularis, which shows pathology in the form of atrophy. To date, pharmacological therapy continuously developed to achieve the optimum treatment of metabolic presbycusis. Drug delivery to the inner ear is one of the challenges in treating presbycusis. Anatomical location and physiological barriers, such as the blood labyrinthine barrier (BLB), are the main obstacle to attaining a high drug concentration in the inner ear. This paper aims to summarize the potential of mineralocorticoid nanohydrogels as a metabolic presbycusis treatment. Material & Methods: Literature review was conducted with keywords "presbycusis", "mineralocorticoid", "nanoparticle", and “nanohydrogel” on PubMed, Google Scholar and ResearchGate. There were 52 articles were appropriate for this purpose. Results: Mineralocorticoids show potential effect as an agent therapy for presbycusis due its action balancing mechanism of the Na+–K+–2Cl− cotransporter (NKCC1) ion pump, which can further increase spiral ganglion neuron (SGN) density and mineralocorticoid receptor (MCR) excretion. Furthermore, using nanohydrogel technology as a delivery vehicle has potency to increase contact time with round window membrane (RWM). This nanohydrogel meets the ideal characteristics drug delivery system to the inner ear, namely stable, intact delivery, specific to the desired target, and having good biocompatibility so the drug can work optimally for the target. Conclusion: Mineralocorticoids encapsulated with hydrogel technology can potentially be a therapeutic option in metabolic presbycusis. Keywords: Presbycusis, Mineralocorticoid, Nanoparticle, Nanohydrogel