Platelet 'Messengers' Combat Methamphetamine Brain Injury in Rats

Methamphetamine use can inflict severe, long-lasting damage on the brain, with few effective treatments available to reverse it. Now, a promising study in rats suggests a novel cell-free therapy may hold the key to neural repair. Researchers investigated the effects of platelet-derived exosomes—tiny biological parcels that cells use to communicate—on rats subjected to the neurotoxic effects of the drug.

After ten days, the rats that received exosomes alongside methamphetamine showed significant improvements in learning, spatial memory, and recognition tasks. They also exhibited fewer depression and anxiety-like behaviours compared to their untreated counterparts.

A closer look at the hippocampus, a brain region crucial for memory, revealed the biological underpinnings of this recovery. The exosome treatment reduced neuronal loss and programmed cell death (apoptosis), lowered inflammation, and curbed oxidative stress. It also helped restore the proliferation of new brain cells, suggesting a multifaceted neuroprotective effect. These findings position platelet-derived exosomes as a promising potential therapy for substance-induced brain injury.