Revolutionary Nasal Spray Could be the Key to Repairing Brain Damage from Strokes!

A stroke is a potentially fatal condition that occurs when the blood supply to the brain is interrupted. The risks for having one include advanced age, high blood pressure, smoking, diabetes, and obesity. The most common treatments include thrombolysis, a technique that dissolves blood clots, and endovascular surgery, which removes clots and restores blood flow. The prevalence of stroke in the United States is high: about 795,000 people suffer a stroke each year, and it is the fifth leading cause of death in the country.

Stroke

Stroke: Image Courtesy of James Heilman, MD

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A need for less invasive treatments

Because strokes are one of the leading causes of mortality and morbidity worldwide it is, therefore, critical to find ways to treat them effectively to reduce the devastating consequences of these events. As a result, researchers are looking for innovative routes of administration for drugs that could help repair brain damage that results from having one.

Researchers in this study wanted to show that it is possible to deliver enough of the antibodies that are targeting an antigen from the central nervous system directly to its target in the brain, using the nasal route to bypass the blood-brain barrier. By using this route of delivery, it is possible to deliver sufficient doses of antibodies without the need for massive amounts, as with systemic antibody delivery. This also reduces the cost of treatment and the risk of adverse effects associated with using an invasive route such as the intrathecal route.

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The findings of the study were published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). The nasal route has many advantages, as it is quick and easy to use, and is non-invasive. It also allows direct access to the brain, without crossing the blood-brain barrier, through the nerves in the nose which is especially important for hydrophilic and high molecular weight molecules, such as antibodies, which have difficulty crossing the blood-brain barrier.

Tests done on Rats

In the study, the researchers tested this route of delivery in adult mice that had suffered a stroke. They administered mouse monoclonal antibodies directed against the membrane protein Nogo-A, which is responsible for inhibiting brain cell growth. By blocking this protein, they hope to promote post-stroke repair processes. Mice were given the treatment nasally once a day for 15 days. Stroke symptoms improved much more in the treated group than in the placebo group.

Nasally treated rats had a significantly greater improvement in stroke symptoms compared to the placebo group. In fact, 60% of the treated rats fully recovered after four weeks, compared to only 30% in the placebo group. The researchers also found that the treated rats had more nerve fibers than the control rats. This suggests that the nasal route may be effective in promoting repair processes after stroke.

Read Also: University of Alabama: Depression Increases the Risk of Stroke

Final Thoughts

What this study showed is very promising because it proves that it is possible to deliver antibodies targeting a central nervous system antigen to its target in the brain by bypassing the blood-brain barrier via the nose. In fact, using the nasal route could provide a cheaper and less invasive alternative for the antibodies delivery. Studies will continue to study this route of administration to determine if it is safe and effective in humans

References

Intranasal delivery of full-length anti-Nogo-A antibody: A potential alternative route for therapeutic antibodies to central nervous system targets

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