This SBIR project develops and evaluates a topical nasal gel that serves as an invisible shield against viral and bacterial pathogens, which may lead to respiratory infections in individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI). Respiratory infections leading to pneumonia remain the most common cause of mortality for approximately 30 to 70 percent of the SCI population. SCI patients are most vulnerable to respiratory illness in the first year after injury but may continue to suffer from respiratory complications throughout life due to their unique risk factors. Currently, there are no proven, user-friendly, non-drug, prophylactic interventions for such acute respiratory infections in persons with SCI. The light, odorless nasal gel developed under this project can be applied in the nostrils on and about the face to prevent replication or growth, thus reducing the infection rate. Outcomes of Phase I include a successful prophylactic intervention that reduces viral respiratory pathogen numbers to sub-infective levels after transmission with the inhibition of cytopathic effects on human nasal mucosal cells and porcine nasal mucosal surfaces. The goal for this product is eventual FDA approval and commercial application in community SCI rehabilitation facilities and facilities housing elderly individuals with disabilities and immune-compromised populations, reducing the healthcare cost of respiratory illnesses and improving the quality of life for people with disabilities.
