Although there is currently no cure for Parkinson’s disease, there’s no shortage of treatments in development. It’s not a bad idea as the baby boomers enter old age, and the demand is higher than ever. A recent Technology.org article discussed a new nasal spray intended to treat the millions of people suffering from the neurodegenerative condition.
Current treatments lose their efficacy over time as the body learns to break them down before they reach the brain. The nasal spray, called levodopa, could prove more effective as it works through the nerves that service the nose. It is converted into dopamine in the brain to help account for the lack of dopamine-producing cells in Parkinson’s patients. However, a liquid nasal spray doesn’t stay in the nose long enough for an effective release of the drug, so the team made the spray a gel, which stays in the nasal cavity longer.
