Many central nervous system (CNS) diseases are still incurable and only symptomatic treatments are available. Oxidative stress is suggested to be a common hallmark, being able to cause and exacerbate the neuronal cell dysfunctions at the basis of these pathologies, such as mitochondrial impairments, accumulation of misfolded proteins, cell membrane damages, and apoptosis induction. Several antioxidant compounds are tested as potential countermeasures for CNS disorders, but their efficacy is often hindered by the loss of antioxidant properties due to enzymatic degradation, low bioavailability, poor water solubility, and insufficient blood-brain barrier crossing efficiency. To overcome the limitations of antioxidant molecules, exploitation of nanostructures, either for their delivery or with inherent antioxidant properties, is proposed. In this review, after a brief discussion concerning the role of the blood-brain barrier in the CNS and the involvement of oxidative stress in some neurodegenerative diseases, the most interesting research concerning the use of nano-antioxidants is introduced and discussed, focusing on the synthesis procedures, functionalization strategies, in vitro and in vivo tests, and on recent clinical trials.

中文翻译：

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抗氧化剂和纳米技术：中枢神经系统疾病治疗中潜在破坏性方法的前景和局限。

许多中枢神经系统（CNS）疾病仍然是无法治愈的，只有对症治疗。氧化应激被认为是一个常见的特征，能够在这些病理学的基础上引起和加重神经元细胞功能障碍，例如线粒体损伤，错折叠蛋白的积累，细胞膜损伤和凋亡诱导。已测试了几种抗氧化剂化合物作为中枢神经系统疾病的潜在对策，但是由于酶促降解，生物利用度低，水溶性差以及血脑屏障穿越效率不足，抗氧化剂特性的丧失通常会阻碍其功效。为了克服抗氧化剂分子的局限性，提出了开发用于其递送或具有固有抗氧化剂性质的纳米结构。