Potential for intranasal drug delivery to alter cerebrospinal fluid outflow via the nasal turbinate lymphatics.

Background: Cerebrospinal fluid absorption (CSF) at the cribriform plate is mediated by direct extracranial connections to the lymphatic system. Given the accessibility of these pharmacologically responsive vessels we hypothesized that the rate of CSF outflow can be modulated via the intranasal delivery of drugs known to affect lymphatic contractile activity.

Findings: Fluid was infused into the lateral ventricle of anesthetized sheep and inflow rate and CSF pressure measured during intranasal administration of pharmacological agents. CSF absorption was calculated at steady-state CSF pressures. The ability of a pharmacological agent to alter CSF absorption was related to the steady-state intracranial pressure (ICP), the concentration and the class of pharmacological agent delivered. An increase in drug concentration correlated with an increase in CSF absorption at high ICP (45 cm H2O, r = 0.42, p = 0.0058). Specifically, the delivery of NG-monomethyl L-arginine (L-NMMA) significantly increased CSF absorption by 2.29 fold over no treatment (2.29 ± 0.34 mL/min), while the thromboxane A2 analogue U46619 resulted in a 2.44 fold increase in CSF absorption over no treatment (2.44 ± 0.55 mL/min). Saline delivery did not significantly increase CSF absorption (0.88 ± 0.097 mL/min). A trend of increased CSF absorption upon noradrenaline delivery was observed: however, this did not reach statistical significance. Increasing drug concentrations inversely correlated with CSF outflow resistance across all drug classes (r = -0.26, p = 0.046).

Conclusions: The administration of nebulized pharmacological agents intranasally has the potential to provide an alternate method to non-invasively modulate CSF absorption and outflow resistance.