Insulin spray could treat ‘diabetes of the brain’

New studies are showing that insulin could play a key role in treating 'diabetes of the brain'.

Many experts have believed that Alzheimer's disease is akin to diabetes of the brain. The theory is that the ageing brain can also develop insulin resistance or suffer from a dwindling insulin supply, damaging neurons and contributing to the widespread destruction of mind.

"It was about 30 years ago that Suzanne de la Monte at Brown University, Rhode Island, introduced the idea of Alzheimer's being diabetes of the brain. Now, it's coming back," the Globe and Mail quoted Howard Chertkow at McGill University as saying.

Researcher de la Monte injected rats with an antibiotic that happens to block insulin, to give the animals "diabetes of the brain". But the post-mortem reports revealed that the rats' brains were riddled with dead cells, plaques and tangled nerve fibres, which is a sign of Alzheimer's.

Not all Alzheimer's patients are, however, diabetic. De la Monte believes insulin resistance in the brain can develop regardless of whether a person has diabetes.

Patrick McGeer, professor emeritus at the University of British Columbia, also found similarities between conditions of diabetes and Alzheimer's disease, but he is not convinced that insulin drives the disease.

At the moment, De la Monte is trying an experiment which was reported in Hawaii, delivering insulin to Alzheimer's patients at Brown, nasally.

"I don't think the nasal spray is the answer, but if the concept gets legs, that's when the creativity kicks in," she said.