Mitigate consequential damage from strokes with simple nasal spray?

By protective proteins over nasal spray attenuate episodes of stroke

According to medical experts, around 270,000 people in Germany suffer a stroke each year. Timely emergency treatment can save the lives of those affected and reduce long-term damage. Researchers now report that damage following a cerebral infarction can be mitigated by "protective proteins" delivered to the brain via a nasal spray.

Many deaths could be avoided

Every year, more than a quarter of a million Germans suffer a stroke. This is one of the most common causes of death in Germany. According to experts, many deaths would be preventable if stroke symptoms are recognized quickly and those affected are treated promptly. In the future, a simple nasal spray could help treat brain cancer patients.

Protective proteins that are introduced into the brain with the help of a nasal spray could reduce the damage after a stroke. (Image: Ralf Geithe / fotolia.com)

In the brain "protective proteins" are introduced

Researchers at the University of Heidelberg have shown with studies on the mouse model that "protective proteins" can be introduced into the brain via the nose, which weaken the destruction of nerve cells after a stroke.

As stated in a communication, the researchers are working around Prof. Dr. med. Hilmar Bading at the Interdisciplinary Center for Neurosciences (IZN) on the scientific foundations for new forms of therapy with which degenerative processes in humans can be stopped.

The team of scientists focuses on the body's own neuroprotective mechanisms.

The most recent research results were published in the journal "Molecular Therapy".

Brain activity counteracts nerve cell death

The Heidelberg researchers have shown in previous work that brain activity counteracts neuronal cell death.

"We know that activated neurons produce proteins that protect against cell death," said Prof. Bading.

It is reported that the NMDA receptor is important at the molecular level. If these receptors are not located in the junctions of nerve cells, the synapses, they can cause massive cell damage and cell death.

However, the toxic extra-synaptic NMDA receptors or the consequences of their activation can be suppressed.

The trigger for this suppression are the proteins Activin A and SerpinB2, whose production in the nervous system is triggered by brain activity, as the researchers have discovered.

New perspectives for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases

As stated in the communication, scientists have explored the question of how these protective proteins can be introduced "from the outside" if their production using activated nerve cells is limited, for example after a stroke.

Prof. Bading was able to work with Dr. med. Bettina Buchthal and Ursula Weiß show that nasal administration opens up new perspectives for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.

This is confirmed by the studies on the mouse model. According to Bading, the mice with stroke in certain areas of the brain had less brain damage when treated in this way.

Years to go before clinical use

Prof. Bading emphasized that the researchers have thus created the scientific basis for a simple "nasal spray" that could reduce the disease-related loss of nerve cells.

Unfortunately, many years will pass before clinical use in humans, since a number of test phases have to be passed successfully until the approval of a new active substance as a drug ", says Prof. Bading.

The scientist believes that this "non-invasive and exceptionally simple therapy principle" is not only effective in cases of acute brain damage such as stroke.

It may also help in chronic neurodegenerative diseases associated with increased activation of extra-synaptic NMDA receptors, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Alzheimer's disease, and Huntington's disease. (Ad)