The Results Of A Small Phase 2 Clinical Trial Provide Promising Signs That Daily Doses Of Insulin Nasal Spray Can Be Used To Slow Age-related Cognitive Decline The Trial Found That The Treatment Was Very Effective For The Elderly With And Without Type 2 Diabetes.
Over The Past Few Decades, An Interesting Hypothesis Has Emerged That Insulin Resistance In The Brain May Play A Role In Age-related Cognitive And Functional Decline. In Response To This Aspect Of The Aging Process, Some Researchers Hypothesized That Intranasal Insulin Delivery May Be An Effective Tool For Maintaining Brain Health In Our Later Years.
The Idea Is That Delivering Insulin Through The Nose Sends Hormones Directly To The Brain. This Means That Intranasal Insulin (INI) Will Not Replace Insulin Therapy In Patients With Diabetes. On The Contrary, Its Role Is To Regulate Insulin Signals In The Brain.
Previous Human Trials Of Intranasal Insulin Have Yielded Different Results. A Medium-sized Trial Treated Patients With Alzheimer's Disease Or Mild Cognitive Impairment For 12 Months And Found No Benefit. However, The New Study Hypothesized That This Treatment May Be More Effective In Preventing General Age-related Cognitive Decline Than Acute Dementia.
The Trial Recruited 223 Adults Aged 50 To 85, About Half Of Whom Were Diagnosed With Type 2 Diabetes. Participants Were Divided Into Four Groups: Diabetes Group Given Placebo, Diabetes Group Given Intranasal Insulin, Healthy Group Given Placebo And Healthy Group Given Intranasal Insulin. Within 24 Weeks, Participants Sprayed 40 IU (0.4 Ml) Of Human Insulin Or Placebo Intranasal Before Breakfast.
At The Beginning Of The Experiment, Participants Completed Various Cognitive And Emotional Tests. The Study Also Tracked Participants' Gait Speed, As Previous Studies Have Found That A Person's Walking Speed Can Be Used To Determine Their Neurological Health.
Vera Novak, Corresponding Author Of The Paper At Harvard Medical School, Said: "walking Speed Is An Important Clinical Predictor Of The Well-being Of The Elderly, Which Is Related To Cognitive Decline, Hospitalization, Disability And Death. At Baseline, Participants With Diabetes Walked Slower And Had Poorer Cognitive Ability Than Those Without Diabetes, Which Can Be Used As A Clinical Reference For The Normal Elderly Population."
At The End Of The Study Period, The Researchers Found That Diabetes Patients Who Used Intranasal Insulin Improved Their Gait Speed And Performed Better On Cognitive Tests Than Diabetes Patients In The Placebo Group. Compared With Non Diabetes Patients In The Placebo Group, Non Diabetes Patients Receiving Intranasal Insulin Also Improved In Decision-making And Verbal Memory Tests.
In The Non Diabetes Group, Those In The Pre Diabetes State At The Start Of The Trial Had The Greatest Improvement. This Indicates That This Therapy May Be The Most Effective In Slowing Down The Cognitive Decline Of Patients With Diabetes Or Pre Diabetes.
Long NGO, The First Author Of The Paper, Pointed Out: "the Consistency Of Data Shows That Participants Receiving Ini Treatment, Especially Patients With Pre Diabetes, Have Better Performance In Walking Speed And Cognitive Ability, Which Is Of Great Significance For Potential Early Intervention With Ini In This Population To Prevent Or Slow Down The Development Of Alzheimer's Disease-related Dementia."
From A Safety Point Of View, The Researchers Found That Intranasal Insulin Did Not Produce Adverse Reactions After 24 Weeks. It Is Also Worth Noting That Intranasal Insulin Did Not Affect Or Impair Subcutaneous Insulin Therapy In Subjects With Type 2 Diabetes Who Were Receiving Hypoglycemic Therapy.
These Results Are Certainly Fascinating, But The Researchers Cautioned That There Are Still Many Questions To Be Answered Before Providing The Elderly With An Intranasal Insulin Spray For Brain Health. This Proof Of Concept Trial Does Provide Strong Preliminary Evidence Of Safety And Efficacy, But It Is Still Unclear What Is The Optimal Dose Of Intranasal Insulin Or Whether It Is Safe For A Long Time.
"Diabetes Participants Treated With Ini Had Faster Walking Speed, Increased Cerebral Blood Flow And Decreased Insulin Resistance, While The Control Group Treated With Ini Performed Better In Executive Function And Verbal Memory Tasks," The Researchers Concluded In A New Study, "Overall, The Ini Effect Shows Improvements In Walking Speed, Executive Function And Verbal Memory. These Findings Are Of Clinical Significance And Deserve Further Investigation In Larger Clinical Trials."