Getting immediate treatment with a nasal spray could be a game-changer for athletes and other people who suffer traumatic brain injuries.
This may become a possibility, according to new research from Mass General Brigham in Boston. The study, published Thursday in Nature Neuroscience, found that a nasal spray targeting neuroinflammation reduced damage to the central nervous system and behavioral dysregulation in mice with TBIs.
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More than 1.5 million Americans have TBIs each year.
“Traumatic brain injury is a leading cause of death and disability — including cognitive decline — and chronic inflammation is one of the key reasons,” said Dr. Saef Izzy, one of the study’s lead authors and head of the Immunology of Brain Injury Program at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. “Currently, there is no treatment to prevent the long-term effects of traumatic brain injury.”
But the study found immediate nasal administration of an anti-CD3 monoclonal antibody – used for the treatment of organ transplant rejection – improved the motor function, coordination and spatial memory of mice with moderate to severe TBIs. The mice also were less anxious than the mice who did not receive the nasal spray.
“This opens up a whole new area of research and treatment in traumatic brain injury, something that’s almost impossible to treat,” another senior author, Dr. Howard Weiner, said in a release. “It also means this could work in intracerebral hemorrhage and other stroke patients with brain injury.”
The next step is human trials. The hope is that this type of nasal spray eventually becomes available to athletes, such as football players, some of whom get repeated head blows.
“We envision giving a nasal spray right there on the sidelines,” Weiner said. “It isn’t something we can do yet, but we see the potential.”
TBIs usually result from a blow or jolt to the head or body by an outside force. Immediate symptoms include headache, nausea and vomiting, slurred speech, dizziness, balance issues and loss of consciousness. Emotional symptoms, such as frustration and irritability, can develop over time.
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a progressive neurological disorder that affects cognition, emotions, behavior and coordination, can develop from repeated TBIs, according to the National Institutes of Health.
Prevention is the best tool to combat TBIs, but people who get immediate medical treatment after blows to the head have better outcomes, according to the Mayo Clinic.