A nasal spray can limit damage to the brain from a seizure disorder called status epilepticus, a study in animals shows.
The disorder can present itself as a single seizure that lasts longer than 30 minutes or a series of seizures between which the person doesn’t regain consciousness. If it doesn’t stop quickly, even one episode can cause brain damage, loss of cognitive function, and memory loss.
Researchers tested the efficiency of these exosomes in a status epilepticus model with damage from a period of acute seizures.
“What is remarkable is that the animal models were rescued from long-term effects of the seizure-induced brain injury by a nasal spray of exosomes,” Prockop says.
Drugs like benzodiazepines, which are tranquilizers, and hydantoins, a type of anticonvulsant, are used to stop status epilepticus episodes, but they are often unavailable—especially if the person hadn’t previously been diagnosed with epilepsy, which is the case 75 percent of the time. Further, they are ineffective perhaps as much as 30 percent of the time.