A nasal spray may help treat Alzheimer's

A treatment approach used for cancer may offer promise for Alzheimer's reports Lancaster University.. This treatment could be delivered in the form of a nasal spray. In this novel treatment aimed at blocking the development of Alzheimer’s disease microscopic droplets of fat are used to carry drugs into the brain. This form of treatment is used in order to target drugs to cancer cells. It has been used successfully in mice to restore memory. The very small droplets of fat are called nanoliposomes. These nanoliposomes can stop amyloid protein from accumulating into plaques. Amyloid plaques have been found to be toxic clumps of protein which cause damage to cells in the brains of people who suffer from Alzheimer’s disease. Lead researcher Professor David Allsop says it is hoped that this could someday be administered by something which is as simple and non-invasive as a nasal spray. Patients could use this comfortably in their own home. 

It has been observed that fat droplets can pass directly into the brain via the nose, which opens up the possibility of using a nasal spray to administer treatments for diseases of the brain such as Alzheimer's. This study has been published in the journal Nanomedicine. Nanotechnology already holds promise for treating people who suffer from many different types of cancer and now may offer new hope for sufferers of Alzheimer's and other brain diseases.