Could Intranasal Insulin Help Improve Memory in Alzheimer's?

Insulin delivered intranasally directly reaches regions of the brain impacted by Alzheimer’s and cognitive impairment, achieving lasting results in memory improvement without affecting blood sugar levels, according to a new discovery.

While previous research has shown that intranasal insulin improves outcomes in patients with Alzheimer’s disease, there is little research on whether or how the insulin reaches the brain.
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For their study, researchers used a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease, finding that after insulin entered the heights of the cribriform plate from the nasal passageways, it was able to distribute throughout the brain and improve memory and reverse learning deficits.

Importantly, they also found that insulin did not successfully enter the blood stream and had no peripheral metabolic impact.

“Before this study, there was very little evidence of how insulin gets into the brain and where it goes,” they concluded. “We showed that insulin goes to areas where we hoped it would go.”

The complete study is published in the July issue of the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease

-Michelle Canales Butcher

Reference:

Salameh TS, Bullock KM, Hujoel IA, et al. The central nervous system delivery of intranasal insulin: mechanisms of uptake and effects on cognition. J Alzheimers Dis. 2015 July [epub ahead of print] doi: 10.3233/JAD-150307.