This Nasal Spray Could Treat Brain Injuries

We commonly associate nasal sprays with allergies and stuffy noses, but there might soon be a nasal spray that can treat traumatic brain injuries like concussions. Let’s just hope the next time an NFL wide receiver gets leveled by a safety that they aren’t so loopy that they have no idea how to operate a nasal spray bottle.

The treatment comes to us from scientists at Mass General Brigham in Massachusetts. The research team used an experimental antibody-based treatment in mice that has thus far shown some promising results in reducing brain damage caused by concussions.

The spray provides a natural boost to the brain’s healing processes, aiding it in its ability to reduce inflammation. There is potential here for this nasal spray to cut down the long-term effects of traumatic brain injuries.

We Could Soon Treat Brain Injuries With a Nasal Spray

CTE gets all the headlines as a seemingly endless parade of NFL players get their consciousness knocked out of them throughout an NFL season. That tends to obscure the fact hundreds of thousands of average, non-football-playing Americans are hospitalized with traumatic brain injuries every year, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths.

Countless others are left with lingering neurological problems that could manifest years down the line. All that is to say that a lot of people could benefit from a nasal spray that helps reduce the effects of literally causing physical damage to your precious brain.

In the study, the spray was found to enhance the brain’s immediate healing by improving the cleanup of damaged cells and preventing chronic inflammation in the brain’s microglia, its first line of immune defense. Mice treated with the nasal spray up to three days post-injury showed improved motor function and coordination compared to untreated mice.

A whole lot of research is required to confirm the efficacy of the nasal spray before it hits the market, but it seems like there might one day be a simple and effective way of reducing brain swelling after it gets rocked by trauma.