Weekly Review: Nasal Spray for Brain Recovery, Teenager Decision-Making, When We Regret Decisions, and Junk Food Has Immediate Impacts on the Brain

I was interested to read a report of a pre-clinical trial showing that a nasal spray could be effective for helping with traumatic brain injury. I know I have regularly reported on various body-brain interactions, such as the gut-brain axis, but this intrigued me.

I have also suffered numerous concussions though my sporting career so have a morbid fascination with mild traumatic brain injuries.

Nasal Spray for Traumatic Brian Injuries?

This is of course no normal nasal spray but is one that has already been used in clinical trials to treat multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, and other conditions.

The spray, branded as Foralumab, is something called a monoclonal antibody. This helps modulate the immune response — during traumatic brain injury your brain rushes to fix the damage and this inflammatory response can also be responsible for damage and impaired function on the damaged regions(s).

Using mice, yes poor critters, but we can’t go around bashing human beings on the head for research. What they found is that being able to modulate the brain’s immune response with…