Study evaluates intranasal insulin therapy for adults with mild cognitive impairment or Alzheimer's
September 12, 2011 in Neuroscience
Intranasal insulin therapy appears to provide some benefit for cognitive function in patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer disease, according to a report published Online First today by Archives of Neurology.
According to background information in the article, insulin plays a role in a number of functions of the central nervous system. "The importance of insulin in normal brain function is underscored by evidence that insulin dysregulation contributes to the pathophysiology of Alzheimer disease (AD), a disorder characterized in its earliest stages by synaptic loss and memory impairment," the authors write. "Insulin levels and insulin activity in the central nervous system are reduced in AD."
Suzanne Craft, Ph.D., of the Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Health Care System and the University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, and colleagues conducted a randomized controlled trial to evaluate the effects of intranasal insulin therapy on cognition, function, cerebral glucose metabolism and cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers in adults with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) or AD.
Study participants were randomized into one of three treatment groups, with 36 participants receiving 20 IU (international unit) of insulin daily, 38 receiving 40 IU of insulin daily, and 30 participants receiving placebo daily for four months. All treatments were administered using a nasal drug delivery device. The authors evaluated the effects of treatment on delayed story recall (how well participants could recall a story told to them immediately after, and after a short time lapse) and the Dementia Severity Rating Scale (DSRS) scores of participants.
Compared with participants in the placebo-controlled group, those receiving 20 IU of insulin daily showed improved delayed story recall, however no improvement was observed for participants receiving 40 IU of insulin. Also, compared with the placebo group, DSRS scores were preserved for both insulin treatment groups. Both insulin doses also appeared to preserve general cognition for younger participants as assessed by the Alzheimer Disease's Assessment Scalecognitive subscale (ADAS-cog) score as well as functional abilities in adults with AD as assessed by scores on the Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Studyactivities of daily living (ADCS-ADL) scale. Conversely, participants with aMCI showed no change regardless of treatment assignment and participants in the placebo-controlled group showed a slight decline overall in function.
"In conclusion, the results of our pilot trial demonstrate that the administration of intranasal insulin stabilized or improved cognition, function and cerebral glucose metabolism for adults with aMCI or AD," the authors write. "Taken together, these results provide an impetus for future clinical trials of intranasal insulin therapy and for further mechanistic studies of insulin's role in the pathogenesis of AD."
More information: Arch Neurol. Published online September 12, 2011. doi:10.1001/archneurol.2011.233
Provided by
JAMA and Archives Journals
-
Dietary changes appear to affect levels of biomarkers associated with Alzheimer's disease
Jun 13, 2011 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Study finds older adults with mild cognitive impairment may also have some functional impairment
Jun 06, 2011 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Ultra-long acting insulin effective with three injections weekly
Mar 11, 2011 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Drug for Alzheimer's disease does not appear to slow cognitive decline
Dec 15, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Diabetes in mid-life linked to increased risk of Alzheimer's disease
Apr 09, 2008 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Motion perception revisited: High Phi effect challenges established motion perception assumptions
Apr 23, 2013 |
3 / 5 (2) |
2
-
Anything you can do I can do better: Neuromolecular foundations of the superiority illusion (Update)
Apr 02, 2013 |
4.5 / 5 (11) |
5
-
The visual system as economist: Neural resource allocation in visual adaptation
Mar 30, 2013 |
5 / 5 (2) |
9
-
Separate lives: Neuronal and organismal lifespans decoupled
Mar 27, 2013 |
4.9 / 5 (8) |
0
-
Sizing things up: The evolutionary neurobiology of scale invariance
Feb 28, 2013 |
4.8 / 5 (10) |
14
-
How can there be a term called "intestinal metaplasia" of stomach
21 hours ago
-
Pressure-volume curve: Elastic Recoil Pressure don't make sense
May 18, 2013
-
If you became brain-dead, would you want them to pull the plug?
May 17, 2013
-
MRI bill question
May 15, 2013
-
Ratio of Hydrogen of Oxygen in Dessicated Animal Protein
May 13, 2013
-
Alcohol and acetaminophen
May 13, 2013
- More from Physics Forums - Medical Sciences
More news stories
Reducing caloric intake delays nerve cell loss
Activating an enzyme known to play a role in the anti-aging benefits of calorie restriction delays the loss of brain cells and preserves cognitive function in mice, according to a study published in the May ...
Neuroscience
11 hours ago |
5 / 5 (4) |
0
|
B vitamins could delay dementia
(Medical Xpress)—Despite spending billions of dollars on research and development, drug companies have been unable to come up with effective treatments for dementia and Alzheimer's Disease (AD). Now, A. ...
Neuroscience
15 hours ago |
4.9 / 5 (13) |
0
|
Waiting for a sign? Researchers find potential brain 'switch' for new behavior
You're standing near an airport luggage carousel and your bag emerges on the conveyor belt, prompting you to spring into action. How does your brain make the shift from passively waiting to taking action when ...
Neuroscience
15 hours ago |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
|
If you can remember it, you can remember it wrong
(Medical Xpress)—Native peoples in regions where cameras are uncommon sometimes react with caution when their picture is taken. The fear that something must have been stolen from them to create the photo ...
Neuroscience
17 hours ago |
4.2 / 5 (5) |
0
|
Study shows where scene context happens in our brain
In a remote fishing community in Venezuela, a lone fisherman sits on a cliff overlooking the southern Caribbean Sea. This man –– the lookout –– is responsible for directing his comrades on the water, ...
Neuroscience
19 hours ago |
4 / 5 (1) |
0
|
Phthalates: Study links chemicals widely found in plastics, processed food to elevated blood pressure in children, teens
Plastic additives known as phthalates (pronounced THAL-ates) are odorless, colorless and just about everywhere: They turn up in flooring, plastic cups, beach balls, plastic wrap, intravenous tubing and—according to the ...
Insight into the dazzling impact of insulin in cells
Australian scientists have charted the path of insulin action in cells in precise detail like never before. This provides a comprehensive blueprint for understanding what goes wrong in diabetes.
New sleeping pill poised to hit US markets
An experimental sleeping pill from US drug company Merck is effective at helping people fall and stay asleep, according to reviewers at the US Food and Drug Administration, which could soon approve the new drug.
Antidepressant reduces stress-induced heart condition
A drug commonly used to treat depression and anxiety may improve a stress-related heart condition in people with stable coronary heart disease, according to researchers at Duke Medicine.
Drugs found to both prevent and treat Alzheimer's disease in mice
Researchers at USC have found that a class of pharmaceuticals can both prevent and treat Alzheimer's Disease in mice.
Enrichment therapy effective among children with autism, study finds
Children with autism showed significant improvement after six months of simple sensory exercises at home using everyday items such as scents, spoons and sponges, according to UC Irvine neurobiologists.