A chemical engineer at McMaster University has joined with a group of neuroscientists to create a nasal spray that could help people with schizophrenia and other mental health disorders take their medication more effectively. It bypasses the blood-brain barrier and delivers the drug directly to the brain, enabling patients to reduce dosages and side effects.
Symptoms
A nasal spray that delivers antipsychotic medications directly to the brain has been tested in a clinical trial for patients with early psychosis. Researchers randomized 52 young people diagnosed with schizophrenia spectrum disorders to receive either placebo or oxytocin nasal spray twice a day for six weeks, along with social cognition training. The researchers found that oxytocin spray helped patients improve their social cognition by increasing the intensity of information they could process. However, it did not appear to have any effect on reducing negative symptoms.
buy ketamine nasal spray online ‘s always been a challenge to sneak medications past our bodies’ blood-brain barrier, which prevents substances from reaching the brain. But McMaster University chemical engineer Todd Hoare recently teamed up with a group of neuroscientist colleagues to develop a nasal spray that can bypass that barrier and deliver an antipsychotic drug directly to the brain. This research is a step toward the development of new delivery devices that will help scientists target brain-based diseases more effectively and safely.
Diagnosis
When it comes to medications designed to treat brain-based diseases, the blood-brain barrier is a tricky critter. That’s why researchers at McMaster University have developed a water-soluble version of an antipsychotic drug that can bypass the blood-brain barrier and deliver it directly to the brain. This slick, high-tech trick was the brainchild of a team of neuroscientists led by chemical engineer Todd Hoare. The spray aptly named the water-soluble oxytocin decongestant has already made its way to the consumer market and is a great example of the power of innovation in healthcare.
The best part of the oxytocin spray is that it’s easier to use than other similar medications. It’s also a great way to reduce the amount of time it takes to administer the drug.
Treatment
A new device that delivers antipsychotic medications directly to the brain could cut the amount of medicine required by half, allowing patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder to take smaller doses. This is a significant leap in efficiency for the treatment of these conditions and offers the promise of significantly reducing side effects and frequency of administration.
A key challenge for delivering drugs to the brain has been sneaking them past the body’s blood-brain barrier (BBB), which is designed to protect the brain from infection and toxins. But this barrier also blocks the passage of most drugs. Getting medications past this barrier is a challenging task, which McMaster University chemical engineer Todd Hoare recently teamed up with a group of neuroscientist colleagues to tackle.
To overcome this challenge, Hoare and his team tweaked corn starch nanoparticles made by Burlington-based EcoSynthetix. These particles have a unique ability to penetrate deep into the nasal cavity and form a gel inside the mucus lining of the nose, releasing a controlled dose of the medication.
The spray carries oxytocin, a hormone that’s thought to enhance empathy and social cognition in the brain. In a trial, 52 young people with early psychosis were administered with oxytocin or placebo twice daily for six weeks, along with social-cognition training.
In the oxytocin trial, patients who took the spray had greater improvement on social cognition measures than those who took the placebo. Oxytocin is a promising medication for treating psychosis, but further clinical trials are needed to confirm its efficacy in this condition.
Another promising treatment option for psychiatric disorders is ketamine, an anesthetic drug used to put patients to sleep before surgery. Ketamine has been shown to be effective in reducing depression in some people, but it can cause severe adverse effects. In an attempt to treat ketamine-induced psychosis, researchers at Australia’s Black Dog Institute and the University of Sydney had planned to test ketamine in a nasal spray.
But after a number of patients experienced hallucinations and temporary loss of fine motor skills while taking the ketamine spray, researchers aborted the trial. They still believe the spray could be beneficial in patients who have not responded to other treatments, and that it may help them stick to their psychiatric medication regimen.
Prevention
A group of researchers at McMaster University has created a nasal spray that can deliver an antipsychotic drug directly to the brain. It is a technological breakthrough and may help people suffering from schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and other conditions take less of their medications and see fewer side effects.
To make it work, the team tweaked corn starch nanoparticles made by Burlington based EcoSynthetix. They bonded the particles to a natural polymer derived from crabs and then sprayed them in the nose, where they would slowly release the medication for three days.
In addition to getting it into the blood stream quicker, a spray can also dispense a more concentrated dose than a pill or injection could. This helps people with schizophrenia stick to their medication regimens, reducing the odds of relapse.
The team’s biggest challenge was figuring out a way to deliver the substance in a way that would be safe for patients. The team landed on oxytocin, a hormone that is commonly used in the treatment of psychosis and other brain disorders.
The research team conducted a randomized trial to determine if oxytocin’s alleged benefits would actually translate into improved social functioning in early psychosis patients. The findings were published in the scientific journal Schizophrenia Bulletin. The study, which involved 52 participants with an early-onset schizophrenia-spectrum illness, was double blind and placebo-controlled.