CBD Nasal Delivery Study Finds Stronger Brain Uptake and Symptom Improvement in Autism Model
- The study developed CBD-loaded polymeric micelles for intranasal delivery to improve brain targeting and bypass the blood-brain barrier, enhancing CBD bioavailability.
- In human nasal cell models, the micelles demonstrated strong compatibility and permeability, and bioimaging confirmed their accumulation in the brains of ASD-like rats after nasal administration.
- Intranasal administration of a 5 mg/kg CBD dose resulted in a 27.8% higher brain concentration after 20 minutes compared to a 15 mg/kg oral dose, indicating a more efficient delivery method.
- Behavioral studies showed that this nasal nanoformulation improved core autism spectrum disorder symptoms in rats, highlighting a promising new treatment approach for neurodevelopmental disorders.
A newly published study in Bioactive Materials finds that a nasal delivery system for cannabidiol (CBD) may significantly improve how efficiently the compound reaches the brain, while also reducing core autism-related symptoms.
Researchers from the University of Haifa and Jerusalem College of Technology developed CBD-loaded polymeric micelles designed for intranasal, or nose-to-brain, delivery. The goal was to create a non-invasive method of administration that could bypass the blood-brain barrier and increase CBD bioavailability in the brain, something that remains a major challenge with orally delivered treatments.
According to the study, the micelles showed strong compatibility and permeability in a human nasal cell model, suggesting they may be well suited for nasal administration. The researchers also confirmed through bioimaging that the CBD-loaded micelles accumulated in the brains of ASD-like rats after intranasal use.
The study found that intranasal administration of the CBD formulation at a 5 milligram per kilogram dose led to a 27.8% higher concentration of CBD in the brain after 20 minutes compared to oral administration, even though the oral dose was three times higher at 15 milligrams per kilogram. That suggests the intranasal formulation may provide a more direct and efficient route for delivering CBD to the brain.
Researchers also report that the nanoformulation improved core symptoms of autism spectrum disorder in behavioral studies involving rats. Given that neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism spectrum disorder, affect an estimated 5.9% of the global population, the findings point to a potentially important new avenue for future treatment development.
The study concludes by stating:
The CBD pharmacokinetics upon the i.n. (dose of 5 mg/kg) and oral (15 mg/kg) administration of the loaded polymeric micelles shows a 27.8% increase of the CBD concentration in the brain of ASD-like rats 20 min after i.n. administration, despite the 3-fold decrease in the dose. Finally, the efficacy of this nanoformulation to improve the core symptoms of ASD is demonstrated in behavioral studies in a behavioral model of the disorder in rats.