Alzheimer’s disease continues to be a growing epidemic in America. In fact, the Alzheimer’s Association reports that there is a new case of Alzheimer’s every 67 seconds. A nasal spray solution is being developed that is already helping people with this problem that is becoming all too common.

The nasal spray that is showing some promise of success was not actually developed for people with Alzheimer’s. It is actually already in use as an insulin nasal spray, but some researchers at the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, NC, have discovered that it seems to be helping patients with Alzheimer’s, too.

The Mayo Clinic mentions that when there are problems with insulin levels, it could easily contribute to problems with confusion, anxiety, visual difficulties, and heart palpitations. The clinic also mentions that irregularities in insulin levels could be one of the factors that leads to Alzheimer’s in the first place.

In a research study, 60 adults were chosen who had been diagnosed with either mild cognitive impairment (MCI), or who were in the early or moderate stages of Alzheimer’s. Some were given 40 IU’s of the insulin determir, some 20 IU’s of insulin, and some were given a placebo. After receiving doses daily for 21 days, those who received the 40 IU’s of the insulin nasal spray showed “major improvement” in their ability to retain and remember new information.

When an individual has Alzheimer’s disease, it is the result of certain parts of the brain not utilizing sugar properly. This is why the insulin spray helps, and this is why it is needed to be administered directly to the brain, says Dr. Aggarwal, who is the Cognitive Neurologist at the Rush University Medical Center.

Although the study was small, it also revealed some news concerning those who had a specific gene that makes some people more prone to get Alzheimer’s, the APOE-e4 gene. For those who had taken the larger dose of the nasal spray, and who had the gene, the research revealed that they had higher memory test results that the others who received the lower dose or the placebo.

The insulin nasal spray that was used in the study was an insulin detemir. This form is a longer lasting spray than the more traditional insulin. Those in the study also experienced hardly any side effects.