Can Amphotericin B-mediated effects be limited using intranasal versus intravenous route?

• Main Authors: Siddiqui, Ruqaiyyah, Ong, Timonthy Yu Yee *, Maciver, Sutherland, Khan, Naveed Ahmed
• Format: Article
• Published: Wiley 2023
• Subjects: QL Zoology; RC Internal medicine; RM Therapeutics. Pharmacology
• Online Access: http://eprints.sunway.edu.my/2827/; https://doi.org/10.4155/tde-2023-0032

Aim: CNS infections due to parasites often prove fatal. In part, this is due to inefficacy of drugs to cross the blood-brain barrier. Methods: Here, we tested intranasal and intravenous route and compared adverse effects of Amphotericin B administration, through blood biochemistry, liver, kidney and brain histopathological evidence of toxicities in vivo post-administration. Results: It was observed that intranasal route limits the adverse side effects of Amphotericin B, in contrast to intravenous route. Conclusion: As parasites such as Naegleria fowleri exhibit unequivocal affinity toward the olfactory bulb and frontal lobe in the central nervous system, intranasal administration would directly reach amoebae bypassing the blood-brain barrier selectivity and achieve the minimum inhibitory concentration at the target site.