PATCH

Abstract

Despite the significant scientific and clinical progresses witnessed in the last years, cardiovascular diseases remain the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, accounting for 17.9 million deaths every year. These numbers are expected to increase, imposing a huge economic burden on health care systems. To counteract this negative tendency, more effective preventive and therapeutic strategies are imperative. In this context, plant metabolites, namely monoterpenes, have emerged as promising cardioprotective agents with strong pre-clinical evidences corroborating these effects. However, translation to the clinic remains limited mainly due to their volatility and low stability, which compromise bioavailability and therapeutic usage in clinical settings. Therefore, we designed the PATCH proposal to develop an innovative strategy to effectively deliver monoterpenes to the heart. Furthermore, to overcome limitations of oral delivery and administration through inhalation, a transdermal route of administration is planned. This exploratory proposal will boost the translation to the clinic of cardioprotective monoterpenes and pave the way for a new line of investigation that aims to develop effective plant-based strategies to improve cardiovascular diseases outcome.