Great leaps in possible treatment for Alzheimer's Disease could have been gained from research into an insulin nasal spray.
Dr. Suzanne Craft currently based at the Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Health Care System, University of Washington, is one of the World's leading experts in neuroscience and neuroendocrinology. She has dedicated a large portion of her research work into the effect insulin has on Alzheimer's disease.
Craft reported that growing evidence
points to insulin playing a vital role in brain function, with decreased
levels possibly contributing to memory problems, atrophy and other
Alzheimer’s-related brain changes. She said scientists believe that
normalizing brain insulin levels might be beneficial in treating the
disease.
The current study was completed with only 104 participants, treatments were administered through an innovative device that quickly
delivered the insulin to the brain. No side-effects were reported.
Although Alzheimer's disease is not a natural condition of aging, it looks as if there will be a growing number of people suffering from it in the future. Current figures for the US are at about 5 million, in 2010 the number of people worldwide with dementia was estimated at about 35 million.
“This study allows more definitive testing of a promising treatment for
Alzheimer’s disease,” said Laurie Ryan, program director of
Alzheimer’s Clinical Trials at the National Institute on Aging at NIH,
the lead institute studying age-related cognitive decline. “This
larger, more in-depth clinical trial of insulin nasal spray will be a
significant step forward in understanding the safety and effectiveness
of this approach.”
Comments: It is interesting to see that insulin has been shown to work, and that a lack of it is cited as being a possible cause for Alzheimer's. We know that the brain can only function on glucose, the video should highlight the problem that insulin deficiency would have with impairing brain function.
Is there a link between diabetes and Alzheimer's? Is there a link to over-eating or eating the wrong things and Alzheimer's? (we already know the effects this has on insulin levels in the body). With greater understanding we may have more tools to repair the problem.
A GlaxoSmithKline nasal spray may be more convenient than fasting for instance (which can have long-term insulin regulating effects), but would it be generally better to catch the insulin problem earlier on?
Stay Healthy!
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