WASHINGTON - September 13, 2011 - A small pilot study led by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) researcher found that a nasal insulin spray improved memory, thinking skills, and functional ability in people with mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease. Currently, there are no effective treatments to delay or prevent Alzheimer’s.
“This research builds on several years of preliminary work by an innovative group of VA investigators and their colleagues, and we are gratified to see the progress that is being made on behalf of Veterans and all Americans who are at risk for Alzheimer’s disease,” said VA Under Secretary for Health Dr. Robert Petzel.
A VA team with the Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center at the VA Puget Sound Health Care System led the trial, which was sponsored in large part by the National Institute on Aging, part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The new findings appear in the Sept. 12 Archives of Neurology.
Previous studies found that low brain levels of insulin—the main hormone that turns sugar in the bloodstream into energy for cells—could contribute to Alzheimer’s. Based on these findings, VA’s Dr. Suzanne Craft has led efforts to test the benefits of restoring normal insulin function in the brain.
The new study tested a nasal spray that delivers insulin quickly and directly to the brain, with no harmful side effects, such as increased insulin levels throughout the whole body. The trial included 104 adults with either amnestic mild cognitive impairment—in which people have memory loss that may progress to Alzheimer’s—or mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease. read more>>>
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
VA Research: Nasal Insulin Spray and Treatment of Alzheimer’s
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