I-Corps: Drug delivery systems for treating degenerative brain diseases

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the improvement of the current standard of care for treating Parkinson's disease (PD), benefiting PD patients and healthcare practitioners. To date, there is no cure to reverse the course of PD and the current standard of care often focuses on managing motor symptoms (tremors, rigidity and loss of gait).

A new drug delivery platform is developed to efficiently deliver nootropic agents to the brain in PD patients to alleviate symptoms and potentially reverse the course of disease. This new drug delivery platform was designed to reverse symptoms and cognitive decline while enhancing patient compliance though a non-invasive device that could complement or replace the current standard methods in an affordable manner without causing side effects.

Beyond PD, the new drug delivery platform may be used to treat Alzheimer's disease and Lewy Body Dementia.

This I-Corps project develops a platform for reformulating oral forms of nootropic agents for intranasal delivery and use by Parkinson's disease (PD) patients. One of the major limitations of consuming oral versions of these nootropic agents is that these compounds do not efficiently reach the blood brain barrier and are extensively metabolized in the liver and gastrointestinal compartments.

This inability to reach the target organs limits the drug's potential cognitive and brain-protective abilities in humans and limits drug efficacy in managing brain degenerative disorders such as PD. Prior preclinical research endeavors showed that the new intranasal formulations can deliver nootropic agents in high concentration in the brain in order to efficiently activate brain-protective signaling pathways and elevate energy output which can lead to better management of PD symptoms.

For efficient and safe delivery to the brain via the nasal route, the intranasal formulations are compatible with a range of intranasal devices including nasal sprays, applicators, and atomizers.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.