This story from the New York Times about a recently discovered potential treatment for early Alzheimer’s almost sounds like science fiction. Apparently, researchers have found that a squirt of insulin deep into an individual’s nasal passages, so it travels to the brain, can keep early Alzheimer’s at bay. This development, if it is able to be translated into a treatment, could be a major breakthrough in the treatment of a disease that has very little, if any, effective treatments to stop or slow its progression.

From the New York Times:

The study, published online in the Archives of Neurology, included 104 people, a group small enough that the promising results could have occurred by chance.

Researchers at the University of Washington divided the subjects into three groups. One got a placebo, one got 20 international units of aerosolized insulin a day, and the third got 40 international units a day.

In the four-month study, the group randomly assigned to receive intranasal insulin twice a day either improved slightly or remained the same in tests of memory and assessments of their ability to handle day-to-day activities. The lower dose seemed more effective than the higher one. Those who received placebos got worse.

We’re excited to see what pans out when this study is expanded. Let’s all keep our fingers crossed for this one.