A Two-Dose Nasal Spray Improved Brain Aging in Mice

A two-dose nasal treatment reduced brain inflammation and improved memory in older mice, with benefits appearing within weeks and lasting for months.

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Researchers have reported a promising approach to brain aging using a nasal treatment made from extracellular vesicles derived from human neural stem cells. In a study of older mice, just two intranasal doses were linked to lower inflammation in the hippocampus, less oxidative stress, healthier mitochondrial activity, and better performance on tests of memory and recognition. The effects were still detectable months after treatment. The tiny extracellular vesicles act as biological delivery packages carrying regulatory microRNAs, including miRNA-30e-3p and miRNA-181a-5p, which can affect inflammatory signaling inside brain cells. The researchers found changes in pathways associated with chronic brain inflammation and cellular stress, including NLRP3 and cGAS-STING signaling. The nasal route is important because it offers a noninvasive way to deliver the vesicles toward brain tissue. The findings are intriguing, but the study was conducted in mice, not people. That means the results do not establish that the treatment can reverse brain aging or improve memory in humans. Human safety, dosing, effectiveness, and long-term effects would all need to be established through further research and clinical testing. The work nevertheless provides evidence that some biological features associated with aging in the brain may be modifiable rather than permanently fixed.

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