Page 41 - Mega Bridal Issue

A guide for family, friends and loved ones

in preparing for the effects of the growing

elder population …a Public Service from

“Those Who Care”

Insulin to Delay Alzheimer's Disease?

Several weeks ago the Home Office participated in their local Walk Dr. Crafts found that the most effective means to get additional
to End Alzheimer's. Led by team leader and Home Office Admin, insulin to the brain, and not to the rest of the body (which did not
Deidre Trolley, they raised over $5,000. In addition to supporting need more insulin), was directly to the brain - in this case, through
a great cause, many office staff commented on how they've been the nose in the form of an aerosol injection.
personally impacted by the cruelty of the disease.
The results, though not conclusive at this time, were promising. The
Alzheimer's disease, like cancer, is a social phenomenon: We all group receiving the 20 international units of insulin a day showed
know someone, or at least have the experience of knowing some- "improvement in delayed memory and preserved general cognition
one, who knows someone who has had the disease. So when compared with placebo." (Nancy Walsh, Staff Writer, MedPage To-
articles begin to be written suggesting a treatment that may delay day, Insulin Nasal Spray May Slow Alzheimer's Disease, September
the progression of Alzheimer's disease, that's big news. Today we 12, 2011).
will have a brief summary of what this discovery is all about.
These results will undoubtedly spur on more aggressive research
Suzanne Craft and her colleagues published the results of a pilot in this field. And as we all know, research requires funding and sup-
study indicating that "a nasal spray form of insulin, used daily for port.
4 months, stabilized or improved cognition, function, and cerebral
glucose metabolism in adults with amnestic mild cognitive impair- If you would like to support or donate to your local Walk to End San Diego
ment (aMCI) and mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease" (Megan Alzheimer's disease, please visiting the Visiting Angels Walk to End Woman
Brooks, Medscape Medical News, Intranasal Insulin Promising for Alzheimer's page.
MCI, Alzheimer's Disease).

Susan Brooks, PhD, (et al), of the Veterans Affairs Puget Sound 41
Health Care Center System, in Seattle, Wash-
ington published their findings on September,
12, 2011 in the Archives of Neurology, with
some of the results disclosed in a presenta-
tion at the Alzheimer's Association Interna-
tional Conference on Alzheimer's Disease
2010.

It is known that "insulin abnormalities con-
tribute to the pathophysiology of Alzheimer's
Disease. Insulin levels and insulin activity
in the central nervous system (CNS) are
reduced in Alzheimer's disease; therefore,
restoring insulin to normal levels in the brain
may provide therapeutic benefit in adults with
Alzheimer's disease.

The study included a group of 104 people
divided into three equal groups: one receiv-
ing a placebo, one receiving 20 international
units of aerosolized insulin a day, and one
receiving 40 international units a day. Brain
cells require insulin, and conditions such as
diabetes and untreated high blood pressure,
deplete the body of insulin, thus increas-
ing the risks of developing or progressing
Alzheimer's disease.