Drugs given through the nose shrank brain tumors in mice
Original title: Intranasal Delivery of Solid Lipid Nanoparticles Loaded with Carmustine and Temozolomide for Glioblastoma Treatment in Mice.
How far along is this research?
- Lab cells
- Animals
- Review
- Tested in people
This was done in animals, not people. Most findings at this stage never become treatments.
This was only done in mice, not in people.
The short version
Two brain tumor drugs, packed into tiny fat particles and given through the nose, shrank tumors in mice.
What was studied. Researchers built tiny fat particles that carry two chemo drugs, temozolomide: A chemotherapy taken as a capsule, used for some brain tumors. Your team checks your blood counts while you are on it. See the glossary and carmustine. They gave the particles through the nose of mice with glioblastoma: A glioma that is given grade 4, the highest grade. It grows fast. Treatment usually starts soon after it is found. It often means surgery, then radiation and chemotherapy. See the glossary tumors grown in the brain.
What they found. The drugs reached the brain and stayed there at steady levels. Mice given the nose particles had smaller tumors than mice given the usual treatment. Those mice also lived longer. No mice died from the treatment, and their organs looked normal at the doses tested.
What this means, and what it doesn't
What it could mean: The brain is protected by a wall that keeps most drugs out. This study tested one way to get around that wall, by going through the nose. In mice, it worked better than the usual way of giving these drugs. That is a reason for researchers to keep studying it.
What it doesn't mean: This does not mean a new treatment is coming soon. The work was done only in mice, not in people. Many things that help mice do not help people. There is no proof this is safe or helpful for a person with a brain tumor. The researchers said more safety work is still needed, including effects on the inside of the nose and buildup in the kidneys over time. This is not a cure.
Source: PubMed, September 23, 2026 · Read the original
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