Transdermal drug delivery systems for Parkinson's disease: Advances and opportunities

Transdermal drug delivery systems (TDDS) have been shown significant efficacy in administering anti-Parkinson’s drugs with improved patient compliance. There are considerable improvements in TDDS for anti-Parkinson’s drugs. These formulations aim to increase drug delivery and clinical outcome of Parkinson’s disease (PD) treatment. This review comprehensively assesses the present status and advancements in TDDS in anti-Parkinson’s treatment. The approaches explored include sustained release patches, microneedles, iontophoresis and nanocarriers. Pharmacological evaluations revealed that advanced TDDS can effectively deliver the therapeutics doses through the skin and hence making them as an alternative to oral drug delivery. Studies have demonstrated that TDDS have the ability to enhance the treatment of PD. Therefore, it is expected that TDDS can provide good health and well-being to Parkinson’s disease patients.