Sniffing Insulin for the Brain: Does it Improve Cognitive Function?

Published on September 12, 2022

Imagine your brain as a bustling city, with insulin as the messenger keeping things in order. In a recent study, scientists investigated the potential of intranasal insulin to enhance cognition in individuals with mild cognitive impairment or dementia. Just like a miniaturized mail carrier, intranasal devices deliver insulin directly to the brain center through the nose. While previous small studies hinted at memory-boosting benefits, this systematic review and meta-analysis examined a total of 16 studies involving 899 patients. The results showed that intranasal insulin did not significantly improve overall cognitive function. However, intriguingly, AD patients without the APOE4 gene variant showed improved verbal memory performance. Although more research is needed to fine-tune the dose and select appropriate insulin types and patients, these findings suggest that sniffing insulin may hold promise for certain individuals battling cognitive decline.

BackgroundInsulin regulates many aspects of brain function related to mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia, which can be delivered to the brain center via intranasal (IN) devices. Some small, single-site studies indicated that intranasal insulin can enhance memory in patients with MCI or dementia. The pathophysiology of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and diabetes mellitus (DM) overlap, making insulin an attractive therapy for people suffering from MCI or dementia.ObjectiveThe goal of the study is to evaluate the effectiveness of IN insulin on cognition in patients with MCI or dementia.MethodsWe searched the electronic database for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that verified the effects of insulin on patients with MCI or dementia.16 studies (899 patients) were identified.ResultsThe pooled standard mean difference (SMD) showed no significant difference between IN insulin and placebo groups; however, statistical results suggested a difference between study groups in the effects of ADCS-ADL; AD patients with APOE4 (-) also showed improved performance in verbal memory; other cognitions did not improve significantly.ConclusionIn view of IN insulin’s promising potential, more researches should be conducted at a larger dose after proper selection of insulin types and patients.Systematic review registrationhttp://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/, identifier CRD42022353546.

Read Full Article (External Site)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You may use these HTML tags and attributes:

<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>