Two doses of nasal spray found to slow brain ageing and restore memory

The effects last months

And this can happen in just two doses with effects lasting months, thanks to the new spray developed by scientists.

The brain fog one experiences as they grow older is linked to a tide of inflammation deep within the brain’s memory centre, a growing body of research suggests.

By scientists, this is called “neuroinflammaging”, which is thought to be the inevitable price of growing older.

A recent mice study now suggests that a simple nasal spray can actually reverse that this inflammation which causes brain ageing and brain fog.

As per researchers from Texas A&M University, the nasal spray in question could change what is known about brain ageing.

And it may even reshape the future of therapies for conditions like Alzheimer’s disease.

Ashok Shetty, lead author of the study published in the Journal of Extracellular Vesicles, said: “As we develop and scale this therapy, a simple, two-dose nasal spray could one day replace invasive, risky procedures or maybe even months of medication”.

“Our approach redefines what it means to grow old,” Dr Shetty says.

“We’re aiming for successful brain ageing: keeping people engaged, alert, and connected. Not just living longer, but living smarter and healthier,” he adds.

Researchers say that the nasal spray works equally effectively across genders, and may one day even help stroke survivors rebuild lost brain function.

It contains millions of microscopic biological parcels known as extracellular vesicles (EVs).

These act like delivery vehicles to carry powerful genetic cargo called microRNAs, which are the active ingredients.

“MicroRNAs act like master regulators. They help modulate and regulate many gene and signalling pathways in the brain,” explained study co-author Madhu Leelavathi Narayana.

The MicroRNAs bypass the brain’s protective shield and travel directly into brain tissue, where they are absorbed, with the help of the EVs.

Another author of the study, Maheedhar Kodali, said that “the mode of delivery is one of the most exciting aspects of our approach. Intranasal delivery allows us to reach and treat the brain directly without invasive procedures”.

The microRNAs suppress protein systems like NLRP3 and cGAS–STING, which are known to drive chronic inflammation in ageing brains, once in the brain.

According to scientists, the treatment also recharges the cell power plants, mitochondria, inside the brain’s neurons.

In the mice treated with the nasal spray, remarkable improvement was shown not only in recognising familiar objects, but also detecting new objects and changes in their environment.

As per the researchers, a US patent has already been filed for the nasal spray.

The researchers have said that they hope it could become a breakthrough for brain ageing treatments.