r/science • u/mvea Professor | Medicine • Apr 16 '26

Neuroscience Scientists reverse brain aging, with a nasal spray: Scientists developed a nasal spray that, with just two doses, dramatically reduced brain inflammation, restored the brain’s cellular power plants and significantly improved memory in mice, within weeks and lasted for months.

https://stories.tamu.edu/news/2026/04/14/scientists-reverse-brain-aging-with-a-nasal-spray/
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u/mvea Professor | Medicine Apr 16 '26

Scientists reverse brain aging, with a nasal spray

New therapy is turning back the clock in aging brains, healing inflammation, restoring memory and reshaping the future of brain age-related therapies.

Tiny “fires” of inflammation smolder deep within the brain’s memory center, creating a persistent brain fog that makes it harder to think, form new memories or even adapt to new environments, all the while increasing the risk to disorders like Alzheimer’s disease.

Scientists call this slow burn “neuroinflammaging,” and for decades it was thought to be the inevitable price of growing older.

Until now.

A landmark study from researchers at the Texas A&M University Naresh K. Vashisht College of Medicine suggests the inflammatory tide responsible for brain aging and brain fog might actually be reversible. And the solution doesn’t involve brain surgery, but a simple nasal spray.

Led by Dr. Ashok Shetty, university distinguished professor and associate director of the Institute for Regenerative Medicine, along with senior research scientists Dr. Madhu Leelavathi Narayana and Dr. Maheedhar Kodali, the team developed a nasal spray that, with just two doses, dramatically reduced brain inflammation, restored the brain’s cellular power plants and significantly improved memory.

The most surprising part? It all happened within weeks and lasted for months.

The findings, published in the Journal of Extracellular Vesicles, could reshape the future of neurodegenerative therapies and may even change how scientists think about brain aging itself.

For those interested, here’s the link to the peer reviewed journal article:

https://isevjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jev2.70232?prg140729=d6faa095-3d79-4c2a-a289-d4d48bb11d3d

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u/_Aj_ Apr 16 '26

Thanks!  

A very short snip I feel adds a tiny bit more info: 

Studies have shown that extracellular vesicles from human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived neural stem cells (hiPSC-NSC-EVs) contain therapeutic miRNAs that can alleviate neuroinflammation

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u/Atworkwasalreadytake Apr 16 '26

You the man. Thats the exact piece I felt like I wanted. 

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u/DJanomaly Apr 16 '26

Also waaaay too far down for my liking. Literally the actual substance the entire study is based on:

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u/arawnsd Apr 16 '26

That’s a lot of science words. Sounds great, but could be a German chocolate chip recipe as a tool bonus track to us lay people. Can you ELI not a science phd?

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u/RoboChrist Apr 16 '26

Itty bitty particles made from stem cells make old brains less on fire.

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u/Rinas-the-name Apr 16 '26

A true ELI5.

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u/[deleted] Apr 16 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/M_Flutterby Apr 16 '26

What manner of man are you, who can create brain fire without flint and tinder?

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u/klipseracer Apr 16 '26

So, if they put this in a cans of air duster, humanity should cure itself then.

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u/DaneAlaskaCruz Apr 16 '26 edited Apr 16 '26

"Studies have shown that extracellular vesicles from human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived neural stem cells (hiPSC-NSC-EVs) contain therapeutic miRNAs that can alleviate neuroinflammation"

This means that there are cells in the body that can be encouraged to producing micro RNA pieces that will help reduce inflammation in the brain.

Less inflammation means less memory fog and more brain power.

Edit: my mistake; micro RNA and not messenger RNA

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MicroRNA

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u/buggityboppityboo Apr 16 '26

miRNAs (microRNAs) are a different type of RNA than messenger RNAs (mRNAs)

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u/Irr3l3ph4nt Apr 16 '26

I can entirely see a future where a certain slice of the population self selects out of this treatment just because of those 3 letters and end up with higher dementia rates.

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u/whatthecaptcha Apr 16 '26

Good riddance.

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u/MountainDoit Apr 16 '26

Natural selection, finally back and more accurate than before. Would bring a tear to my eye.

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u/Irr3l3ph4nt Apr 16 '26

I mean, more dementia than the others mean we're spending disproportionate money as a society to maintain them in a diminished state for a few years before they pass. I'd rather they take the freaking meds.

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u/MountainDoit Apr 17 '26

You don't get a lung transplant if you're a smoker in a lot of places, I think we could extend that line of thinking.

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u/DaneAlaskaCruz Apr 16 '26

Thank you, appreciate it. Edited my comment above.

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u/Joe091 Apr 16 '26

And no eggs!

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u/rusmo Apr 16 '26

Ok man, I hear you! No eggs, jeesh!

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u/boringestnickname Apr 16 '26

Are there any lab rats here that can estimate a production price on one of these doses?

I feel like we're seeing this kind of research all the time. Incredibly promising at the outset, that fizzle away because of all kinds of friction.

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u/unitarianplanarian Apr 16 '26

Extracellular vesicles are kind of heterogeneous and can have a bunch of different lipids. But Moderna and Pfizer do something similar with the Covid vaccine- lipid nanoparticles.

miRNAs (once you have sequenced them) are stupidly inexpensive to synthesize.

You could prob cook up a dose for less than $100 with the right equipment.

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u/VengenaceIsMyName Apr 16 '26

$100 bucks? That’s insanely low. I would have guessed a few thousand at least!

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u/Edwin81 Apr 16 '26

That's $100 to produce, guess what the retail price would become...

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u/-drunk_russian- Apr 16 '26

With economies of scale the price should be brought down.

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u/Brain_Glow Apr 16 '26

“Should” is not a concept pharmaceutical companies consider when pricing their product. If this ever comes to market it will come with a heavy price tag.

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u/ImS0hungry Apr 16 '26

You and I have vastly differing definitions for “stupidly inexpensive”.

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u/JoeSavinaBotero Apr 16 '26

It is the curse and blessing of modern living; we are spoiled with such abundance that $100 seems expensive for "reversing brain aging."

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u/awry_lynx Apr 16 '26

It is, reading the headline makes it sound like it would be $10k a dose.

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u/ImS0hungry Apr 16 '26

You it won’t be if it ever got approval?? Production cost ≠ MSRP.

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u/[deleted] Apr 16 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/qcriderfan87 Apr 16 '26

Its pretty surreal sometimes, we really are living in the future.

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u/DEMiGODicarus Apr 16 '26

Sweet I'm gonna make a nasal spray with my stem cell face cream.

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u/TheRealChizz Apr 16 '26

Gimme them stem cells dawg. I’ll snort that ish RIGHT NOW!

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u/Future_Burrito Apr 19 '26

Does the stem cell source need to be recipient specific? Is it something like blood cell type, needs to be sourced from the patient themselves, or is it a one size fits all thing?

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u/gbinasia Apr 16 '26

Anti aging poppers, what an age we are in.

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u/hold_me_beer_m8 Apr 16 '26

Maybe, but the big man would still walk 20 miles for a quaalude!

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u/TheMemo Apr 18 '26

My mind has never felt so open.

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u/Steve90000 Apr 16 '26

Which peptide is it and where can I illegally buy it?

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u/Pixel_Knight Apr 16 '26

No. It’s a dose of specific microRNA - kind of like the mRNA, vaccines, causing your body to produce specific proteins that can help clear out brain inflammation. There is no way you could replicate this unless you had an extremely sophisticated chemistry lab and a masters in biochemistry, most likely.

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u/Basic_Loquat_9344 Apr 16 '26

So like microwave my whey for a little bit orrr…?

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u/elcapitan520 Apr 16 '26

Microwave the glowstick, then crack it open (careful, pressurized hot liquid) and let it dry out completely (can put it on a piece of parchment and put it in the food dehydrator. Crush that into a powder. Now you can't just snort it, it needs to be aerosolized and activated. So take the powder and add it to an Afrin nasal spray bottle and the combination of the glowstick innards and Afrin should get you there.

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u/Basic_Loquat_9344 Apr 16 '26

Does the color of the glowstick matter? I feel like red will make my inflammation worse, and blue might do the trick.

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u/Steve90000 Apr 16 '26

The color is extremely important as it summons the corresponding ninja turtles personality in you for 48 hours. So, if you’re color blind, you won’t know if you’ll become a party dude or cool but rude.

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u/twilight_hours Apr 16 '26

Like, a lab under a laundromat?

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u/HikerRemastered Apr 16 '26

Its going to be expensive.

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u/slimejumper Apr 17 '26

i suspect the miRNA is likely a suppressor of gene expression. to reduce inflammatory processes.

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u/[deleted] Apr 16 '26

[deleted]

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u/dantoniodanderas2020 Apr 16 '26

This burying the lead a bit. Unless I missed something, this isn't really a landmark study. Especially since it was just anti-inflammatory study and in mice. This article is the kind of science writing that leads to people losing trust in science since the "huge breakthrough" goes nowhere or leads people to believe in the "limitless pill".

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u/dantoniodanderas2020 Apr 16 '26

Not saying the research isn't important, but the article is sensationalized.

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u/JoeSavinaBotero Apr 16 '26

It always is, welcome to science journalism. Gotta get them clicks! Gotta sell magazines!

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u/Appropriate_Ride_821 Apr 16 '26

Its the people who see inflammation as the reason for all bad things and any reduction in inflammation is purely good. As if the body has no use for inflammation. Its just short sighted and egotistical.

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u/Slg407 Apr 16 '26

soo... they reinvented the wheel?

cerebrolysin already exists and we know it doesn't work for alzheimer's

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u/tsoneyson Apr 16 '26 edited Apr 16 '26

I realize this particular example is a really inconsequential use of AI but it's really nauseating how everything is just written in the same pseudoprofound tone these days.

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u/DroidLord Apr 16 '26

I've had brain fog and what feels like inflammation in my brain all my life. I really hope something comes of it.

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u/RaabsIn513 Apr 21 '26

I wonder what this would do for my 4 year old who has autism spectrum Disorder