U.S. researchers at Augusta University Georgia School of Medicine have created a nasal spray that shows promise in protecting neurons against Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia in the elderly, and in preventing the severe seizures that may be brought on by the condition. The research article was printed in JCI Insight.

In order to boost a naturally occurring mechanism in the brain that prevents these episodes, the team produced a peptide they termed A1R-CT. More than half of people with dementia, according to the study, have a kind of uncontrolled electrical activity that may be mitigated by the spray.

The drug protects neurons from becoming hyperexcitable, which disrupts their normal transmission and ultimately leads to seizures by blocking a protein called neurabin. Given that 40% of seizure episodes are uncontrollable owing to a lack of effective medicines, the spray may also be used as a rescue drug.

With the chemical, the researchers saw a significant decrease in neuronal death in the Alzheimer’s model. They’re now investigating how to best define the optimal dosage of drug and how to finance clinical studies.