Nasal Spray Innovation Offers Hope for Traumatic Brain Injury Treatment: Study Finds
A new study led by researchers at Mass General Brigham suggests a nasal spray developed to target neuroinflammation could one day be an effective treatment for traumatic brain injury (TBI). By studying the effects of the nasal anti-CD3 in a mouse model of TBI, researchers found the spray could reduce damage to the central nervous system and behavioral deficits, suggesting a potential therapeutic approach for TBI and other acute forms of brain injury. The results are published in Nature Neuroscience.
“Traumatic brain injury is a leading cause of death and disability — including cognitive decline — and chronic inflammation is one of the key reasons,” said lead author Saef Izzy, MD, FNCS, FAAN, a neurologist and head of the Immunology of Brain Injury Program at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH), a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system. “Currently, there is no treatment to prevent the long-term effects of traumatic brain injury.”
The study examines the monoclonal antibody Foralumab, made by Tiziana, which has been tested in clinical trials for patients with multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, and other conditions.
Multiple experiments were done in mouse models with moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury to explore the communication between regulatory cells induced by the nasal treatment and the microglial immune cells in the brain. Over time, researchers were able to identify how they modulate the immune response.
In addition to assessing the effects of the treatment, the research team was able to learn about immune response over time and compare the immune responses and effects of TBI in the mice.
Ref: Izzy, S., et al. “Nasal anti-CD3 monoclonal antibody ameliorates traumatic brain injury, enhances microglial phagocytosis and reduces neuroinflammation via IL-10-dependent Treg–microglia crosstalk” Nature Neuroscience. DOI: 10.1038/s41593-025-01877-7
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