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Journal of Public Health Policy and Planning | Volume 3
April 08-09, 2019 | Zurich, Switzerland
Health Care and Neuroscience
International Conference on
Notes:
Nose-to-Brain nerve growth factor delivery: A promising and safe strategy to
protect the CNS
Alberto de Bellis
Maria Rosaria Maglione Foundation onlus, Italy
N erve growth factor (NGF) is the Founding
Member of the neurotrophins family of
proteins, known for playing a critical protective
role in the development and survival of
sympathetic, sensory and basal forebrain
cholinergic neurons in mammals, including
humans. NGF has a neuroprotective action in
Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, as showed
by several studies in animal models and humans.
NGF can be delivered to the CNS via nasal route
and has a neuroprotective action in case of
neurodegenerative diseases and brain injury.
Furthermore, recent studies have shown an
active link between the nasal pathway and the
spinal cord in the delivery of NGF to the CNS,
thus demonstrating the neuroprotective ability
of NGF to support injured neurons in a mouse
model of spinal cord injury. Intranasal delivery
of NGF has so far been sufficiently investigated
in animal models and only recently in humans,
as demonstrated in a recent study on long-term
intranasal administration of NGF in two patients
affected by Frontotemporal Dementia associated
with corticobasal syndrome (FTD/CBS) and in
another study on intranasal administration of
NGF in a Brain Injury. These studies demonstrated
the neuroprotective role of NGF administered
nasally. Intranasal administration is the most
effective and non-invasive way to deliver NGF
to the CNS. These neuroprotective properties of
NGF make it a strong candidate for the future
treatment of neurodegenerative diseases and
other pathologies of CNS (brain injury, spinal cord
injury, ischemic damage) when administered via
nasal route. NGF would not be able to cure the
FTD/CBS but these observations support the
hypothesis that NGF slows down the usual decline
of the disease. However, these studies reinforce
the concept that neurotrophins are able to reach
and protect the CNS via nasal route and open
the way for new lines of research. Hence, these
findings suggest the ability of NGF to protect
CNS neurons when administered via nasal spray.
Speaker Biography
Alberto de Bellis is a Neurosurgeon and the Founder and Chairman
of Maria Rosaria Maglione Foundation onlus, non-profit organization
for Neuroscience based in Naples-Italy. The MRM Foundation runs in
honor of the founder’s mother, Maria Rosaria Maglione, who suffers
from Frontotemporal Dementia. The activity of the MRM foundation
is mainly aimed at research and health care for neurodegenerative
diseases, brain tumors and spinal cord injury and in support of
partner foundations operating in Kenya-Africa, such as the Gallmann
Memorial Foundation and the African Neurological Diseases Research
Foundation. The main research activities of the MRM foundation are
focused on the study of the Nerve Growth Factor and its possible
neurotherapeutic applications.
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