Memory function improved in up to three-fourths of patients using special device, new study finds
Article Source: msnbc.com
from:msnbc.comInsulin nasal spray may slow Alzheimer's
Seeded on Mon Sep 12, 2011 4:56 PM EDT (msnbc.com)
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Sounds promising. Good news for once.
I understand the need for more studies, but it's a shame that this one was halted after 4 months. What generally seems to be lacking are studies tracking the long term effects of medical treatments. I wish they could have started their new ones while continuing this one.
I wonder if funding is the issue.
This is one of those breakthroughs that should get priority attention and funding. But, like everything else medical, it just gets mired down in politics while people die.
They should use Congress as a control group for their study!
bwa-ha-ha! Thanks for the laugh!
God no. If Congress got any brighter think of the damage they could do. Let them all have alzheimers and they will forget to vote, for anything!!!!
Why does it have to take so long to make this available to patients now? It's too late for my mother and aunt but someone else might not have to go through what we went through. Alzheimers is horrible I rate it right up there with cancer and heart disease; watching your loved one slip away is devestating.
Then GO FOR IT!There's nothing to lose but time.
This study takes entirely too long it needs to be made available to patients that need help NOW. I have lost my mother and her sister to Alzheimers and I can't tell you how awful it is to watch your mother drift away. I rate this disease right up there with cancer and heart disease, if my mother was still with us I would take this spray right along with her for a test study...also, don't make it cost a zillion dollars or it won't help anyone!
It is so good to hear there is something positive with altzheimers , but why do they stop the testing when they just get started and why does it take so long to have any results. years, even months , is too long to wait for any results. My husband would gladly become a guinea pig now, because, as you know, there is no time to play around with this disease. His father and 6 of his aunts and uncles died with altzheimers so that means our 4 children and grandchildren have a good chance of contacting this too, so please ask us to help in finding a cure.
Sorry for the double post, I just signed on to do this. Didn't realize they held the first one. Plus this subject hurts....my mom died earlier this year.
Still grieving
I am very sorry for your loss...Moms can't be replaced...God bless you and your family...
If th VA wont cover a lot of allready approved drugs ..due to cost restraints and the proposed cuts in VA funding in the Ryan budget ...why would they approve this treatment for our Veterans ... they all say we need to do more for our veterans ..but they never do
so what is the connection between alzheimers and diabetes other than insulin?
maybe remembering to take it???
Treatments for some diseases often result from someone noticing a benefit to the patient for another disease. LOL - treatment for baldness came about when someone noticed that a drug used to treat heart disease often caused new hair growth on the body of patients.
Apparently - someone noticed that insulin delivered by nasal spray helped improve memory in Alzheimer's patients who also had diabetes.. Unlike an injection in the arm - the nasal spray delivers the insulin directly to the brain.
so what is the connection between diabetes 2 and alzheimers other than insulin?
I don't blame you for asking. This article was terribly written. The neurons that get sick and die in AD do not get enough glucose, I gather. Insulin helps with glucose uptake in those brain cells, making them live longer and perform better. I think. Not much can be gleaned from the article. As with all of these media blurbs on medical breakthroughs, you need to read the scientific article itself to know what it really said.
MSNBC has a link to the real article, which is more than I can say for other news sources.
Ah, good old Puget Sound, still putting out good papers and reviews. Too bad VA research is less trusted because its population differs from the norm.
This is a small study with only 104 patients. The next step is a cross-hospital study using standardized patient databases to really nail the hammer home.
The limitations are of course that insulin is pretty potent and multifunctional and does a whole lot other than glucose management, which translates to caution, especially for the infirm. Don't want to cause cancer or a stroke while you're curing Alzheimer's. In addition, the evidence for improvement is basically just tests to see how well these people are taking care of themselves and how much they remember. It's not black and white like a lab value, so as long as we don't see miraculous dissolution of amyloid plaques under a microscope, don't hold your breath.
Well cooked meat assures you the e.coli will not continue to grow in your intestines, but if the e. coli has already made enough toxin before you cooked it your going to get SICK no matter how long you cook the meat. Keeping tainted meat out of our food chain is the only safe way, that is why you really do need regulations.
I for one don't mind paying the extra penny for my steak. It's the same test they already run for the one strain, it doesn't take any more time or effort to run for 7 or 100 strains for that matter. You just end up throwing away a little more bad meat if the test is positive. Why would any sane human being be against that?
Alright if you really insist, maybe we could add a separate section to the meat display for those folks who insist on not having their meat tested? Feed them Freedom!
I'm sorry for all of those (us) who are so in need of a real cure for Alzheimer's. This article is just more Pharma hype. It is just a payback for all the advertising dollars. Phase II trials are not really designed to test clinical efficacy. There is no reason why this should actually make the news- except the tight financial relationship between MSNBC and the manufacturer.
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Yes, Congress needs "improved memory". They care about their party and not about the country. Thanks for the laugh.
This study is for Alzheimer's, not for the treatment of evil minds.
The participants were given 20 IU (international units) of insulin, 40 IU of insulint or a saline placebo.
A control group may be the accepted norm for an experiment - it is unlikely that this was necessary for this study. The effect of this disease on different people is different and progresses at different rates.
The important outcome is - Was there improvement in memory of those exposed to the treatment? It would be difficult to determine the effect of the treatment on rate of progression of the disease - it would take a very large group - and - the results would have be compared to the expected progression of the disease.
I was diagnosed a year ago with mild cognitive impairment. My Dr. prescribed insulin nasal spray; two months ago I was re-tested and there are no signs of impairment.
Good for you Kathy...I do wish you well...
Two factor need to be present for this to be an effective treatment:
1. the patient cannot already be beyond help.
2. a successful result should be of some long-term benefit to society.
In the case of Congress, neither factor exists so this would not be a valid treatment exercise.
Why does the patient have to not be beyond help? (a lost cause?)
Studies haven't been longterm and maybe longterm usage COULD help those with severe impairment. We don't know yes or no on that yet!
The result could be short term and help some people live better for
This does not need to benefit SOCIETY for the long term, rather it only needs to benefit A PERSON for ANY period of time, to make life better WHILE THEY ARE STILL ALIVE / which may not be for a long time/term
anyway!
When you're talking about the brain, there are only a few cases where neural damage can be reversed. Usually, you just stop or slow down the deterioration, kind of like treating baldness. Once the nerves are gone, they're gone.
My Mom Had Alzheimer's and she died of complications on January 14th 2011. Thanks for nothing!
Sorry for your loss. This never said that it would prevent anyone's demise. It only said that it could improve life for those that were not advanced in the disease.
Nancy, I know what it said, but if this was out about 7 years ago, maybe it could have allowed my family and myself to have our Mom around a few more years.
There has been a proven link to insulin, diet and alzheimers. My dad has diabetes #2 and Alzheimers x2 years, and I have read everything since I am at risk too. There is proof you can change your diet, cut carbs etc and Im following a diet plan i read about in the book Treating Alzheimer's Preventing Alzheimer's Guide 2011, and now I know that insulin levels can be regulated with food. I wish more research funding could be found, we need a bailout for Alzheimers research, this is the next public health crisis
Are you kidding Mike? Our Government would much rather throw money into the mosque fund, you know the fund for renovating mosques in the Middle East! I'm sure they don't think 700 million is enough money to throw away for that!
Harry would make a good test subject, oh and let's not forget Nancy.
This is GREAT NEWS and I only hope they can advance the release date to the public as my girlfriends Dad is fading fast. To share even a few of his memories of his entire life would be an amazing experience and one I may never see again.
If the results of this study had come out about 7 years ago, I would have tried to get a hold of some of that spray without Government consent because my Mom was doomed anyway.
My wife is 50 years old diagnosed with Alzheimer's 3 years ago. Where can we sign up to be a study participant?
If the nasal spray works and I hope that it does, then its feasible that it would work the same way on other illnesses directly related to the brain just by changing the ingredients and finally find cures for mental disorders, addictions, hormone imbalances, bipolar disorders, ADD, some types of blindness, brain tumors, etc. HURRAAAYYYYYY!
Yeah,go ahead put more crap in your body. I`m sure it`s safe till they tell you otherwise!
1 question ...Any family members that work for the company taking this drugs?