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Two widely available drugs can safely improve brain health A new study has shown that in people suffering from early Alzheimer’s disease.
Scientists found that diabetes medicine Empagliflozin and an intranasal insulin spray have promising effects Memory, Brain Health and brain blood flow, according to research published in the journal Alzheimer’s and dementia.
These findings may solve an important problem treatment interval For patients with Alzheimer’s disease. While Alzheimer’s has recently been approved drugs While representing progress, scientists say their benefits are modest and these drugs are not available to many patients because of their side effects.
According to researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, these drugs do not solve the brain blood flow problems that drive Alzheimer’s progression or help restore brain function after damage occurs.
“For the first time, we found that empagliflozin, an established diabetes and heart drug sold under the brand name Jardiance, reduces brain injury scars while restoring blood flow to critical areas of the brain,” said study author Suzanne Craft of Wake Forest University School of Medicine.
“We also confirmed that delivering insulin directly into the brain with a newly validated device enhances cognition, neurovascular health, and immune function,” Dr. Kraft said.
According to the researchers, these findings highlight boosting brain metabolism as a powerful approach in the treatment of Alzheimer’s.
“A longer and larger trial is needed to confirm these results,” the scientists wrote.
In a four-week clinical trial, doctors enrolled 47 older adults with an average age of 70 with mild cognitive impairment or early Alzheimer’s disease.
Participants were randomly assigned to receive intranasal insulin alone, empagliflozin alone, both drugs together, or a placebo.
The researchers observed that both drugs were safe and well tolerated, with treatment-related side effects being mild and similar across all groups.
They found that each drug had different benefits when using insulin nasal spray, which was linked to better performance on cognitive tests that detect early memory changes, while empagliflozin reduced tau protein in the spinal fluid, which has been linked to toxic lumps in the brain of Alzheimer’s patients.
These changes indicate the drugs activate protective immune responses and reduce harmful inflammation.
The nasal spray uses a precision delivery device to send insulin directly into the brain through the nose, bypassing the bloodstream.
Once there, insulin activates proteins throughout the brain that keep nerve endings healthy, support blood vessel function, and regulate immune responses.
Previous research has shown that patients with Alzheimer’s disease often have insulin resistance in the brain along with blood vessel problems that reduce the delivery of nutrients.
“We plan to follow up on these promising results with a larger, longer study in people with early and preclinical Alzheimer’s disease,” Dr. Kraft said.
He added, “Because empagliflozin or intranasal insulin improved tau tangles, cognition, neurovascular health, and immune function, we believe these treatments may offer real therapeutic potential, either on their own or in combination with other Alzheimer’s treatments.”