Nasal drops to treat brain cancer on the horizon

Unlike conventional treatments wherein the anticancer drugs are unable to penetrate the brain due to the blood-brain barrier, the new method of administrating medication, via nose drops or nasal spray, was able to avoid the barrier and travel directly to the brain.

Experiment on rodents
The researchers tested the anticancer drug methotrexate on laboratory rats that had brain cancer.

Drugs were delivered through the nose in one group, while a control group received the injectable form of the drug.

It was noted that the brain tumors in the group who received the nose drops reduced in weight by about one-third compared with rats in the control group who received conventional treatment.

Experts theorize that the direct physical contact between the nasal cavity and the central nervous system makes it possible for the medications to reach the brain through the nose.

The investigators also mixed a diuretic called acetazolamide with the methotrexate in the nose drops.

According to experts, acetazolamide not only enhances the efficacy of medication but also reduces the adverse effects such as liver and lung damage, severe skin infections, and lowered immunity linked with the anticancer drug.

Lead researcher Tomotaka Shingaki stated, "The strategy to utilize the nose-brain direct transport can be applicable to a new therapeutic system not only for brain tumors but also for other central nervous system disorders such as neurodegenerative diseases."

Results of the new study are published in the American Chemical Society’s journal Molecular Pharmaceutics.

A little about brain cancer
Brain cancer is a disease in which malignant cells arise in the brain tissue.

Cancer cells grow to form a tumor that interferes with brain functions such as muscle control, sensation, memory, and other normal body functions.

There are two main types of brain cancer: primary brain cancer that starts in the brain and metastatic brain cancer starts somewhere else in the body and moves to the brain.

Brain tumors can be benign, with no cancer cells, or malignant, with cancer cells that grow quickly.

Brain tumors can cause many symptoms such as headaches, nausea and vomiting, changes in one’s ability to talk, hear, or see.

There can be problems with balance, walking, thinking, or memory. Other signs include muscle jerking or twitching and numbness or tingling in arms or legs.

The exact causes of brain tumors are ambiguous, and medical experts find it difficult to explain why some persons develop the disease.