Cryonics

Intranasal administration of medications

Experiments investigating the effects of medication administration via the nose are becoming increasingly common in scientific literature. Direct olfactory transport to the brain and the consequent lack of systemic side effects make nasal administration of neuroactive drugs a very attractive option for doctors and patients alike.

Neuropeptides such as insulin and melanocortins are known to play a role in central nervous control of energy homestasis, which in turn affects body weight regulation. Insulin receptors are also found in high concentration in the hippocampus, and insulin is known to influence memory consolidation. A recent paper by Hallschmid et al. studied the efficacy of intranasal neuropeptide administration in modulating both metabolic and cognitive disorders in humans, finding that administration of MSH/ACTH (i.e., melanocortins) induced weight loss in normal-weight humans, and that insulin administration “reduced body fat and improved memory functions in the absence of adverse peripheral side effects.”

Such results indicate a promising future for directed therapies in patients with central nervous system dysfunctions, and the potential of intranasal administration of medications in cryonics should not be ignored. Intranasal administration of vasoactive medications could be a beneficial method to maintain blood pressure during stabilization. Similarly, intranasal administration of neuroprotective agents to the brain represents another time-saving means of reducing brain injury during cryonics procedures.