Vol 11, Issue 12, 2018 Online - 2455-3891 Print - 0974-2441 FUSOGENIC LIPOSOME FOR THE TREATMENT OF FUNGAL MENINGITIS: AN OVERVIEW IRENE SUSAN ALEX, JENEETTA JOSE, RAHUL R, ANJU GOPAL, ANU PRIYA* Department of Pharmaceutics, Amrita School of Pharmacy, Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Kochi, Kerala, India. Email: anupriya@aims.amrita.edu Received: 23 April 2018, Revised and Accepted: 11 August 2018 ABSTRACT Fungal meningitis is an infection which is caused by fungus which spreads through the blood to the spinal cord. People with weakened immunity get this disease easily like persons with AIDs, etc. To make sure the disease is fungal meningitis, a sample is taken from the cerebrospinal fluid and it is sent to the laboratory. Usually, fungal meningitis is not mediated from person to person, but it is caused when a fungi are inhaled from the surrounding and spread into the blood to the central nervous system. Normally medications such as vaccines, IV, and oral suspensions are given to the people for curing fungal meningitis. Commonly used drugs are Amphotericin B and fluconazole oral suspension. Amphotericin B is an antifungal, antiprotozoal, and hydrophobic drug. However, these drugs cannot give a directly as medication therapy for the patients, because it offers toxic effect and side effects, absorption rate is slower, and crossing the blood–brain barrier (BBB) is getting difficult. Adverse effects can be minimized with the application of nanotechnology. Therefore, in human medical services, the availability of molecular nanotechnology will provide rapid progress. Nanoparticle (NP) systems help to improve the solubility of poorly water-soluble drugs which has been explained using Noyes–Whitney equations. Nanoparticles offers several advantages as a drug delivery system, such as better drug bioavailability, reduction of dosing frequency enables them for the betterment of diseases, can cross the BBB, and it is very cost-effective. Types of NP include polymeric NP, carbon nanotubes, metallic structures, nanocrystals, and fusogenic liposomes. Fusogenic liposomes are a peculiar class of phospholipid vesicles. The fusogenic liposomes can deliver encapsulated NP into the targeted sites and also can cross the BBB. On comparing with cationic liposomes, fusogenic liposomes are more effective as well as rapid in the drug delivery. Keywords: Fungal meningitis, Nanotechnology, Liposomes, Fusogenic liposomes. INTRODUCTION Among different types of fungal infections, one of the types is fungal meningitis. Fungal meningitis is caused due to the inhalation of fungus spores or localized colonization of the skin. Cryptococcus fungus is the main causative organism of fungal meningitis; it is also caused by other organisms. The organisms are generally breathed in and afterward spread into the blood and to the focal sensory system yet it is not spread starting with one individual then onto the next [1]. The growths can likewise be specifically embedded into the focal sensory system by medicinal methods or can be entered from a tainted site close to the focal sensory system which can cause meningitis. Any treatment that may debilitate the insusceptible framework may prompt high hazard components of contagious meningitis. The other hazard factors incorporate surgical methods that are managed with no sterility and will acquaint the growths with the focal anxious. Cerebral pain, solid neck, queasiness, heaving, photophobia, and adjusted mental status are its primary side effects. This is diagnosed by blood and culture of cerebrospinal fluid. The most effective thing to protect children from meningitis is to provide vaccines that protect against most forms of meningitis and septicaemia [2]. Commonly IV antifungal drugs and oral suspensions such as fluconazole and Amphotericin B drugs are given for this treatment. Different drug delivery systems have been developed with the help of nanoparticles (NPs) [3]. PATHOGENESIS The key step for a pathogen to infect the brain and cause meningitis is to cross the blood–brain barrier (BBB), an interface that separates the peripheral circulation and central nervous system [4]. BASIC PATHOLOGY OF FUNGAL MENINGITIS [5] © 2018 The Authors. Published by Innovare Academic Sciences Pvt Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons. org/licenses/by/4. 0/) DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.22159/ajpcr.2018.v11i12.26852 Review Article