The Pathophysiology Of Alzheimer's Disease

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There’s evidence that insulin abnormality contributes to the pathophysiology of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), this therefore emphasizes the importance of insulin in a healthy brain function. In addition, insulin receptors found in the brain are concentrated in the hippocampus and other parts of the brain to help regulate glucose consumption. It also expedites memory at an optimal level in a normal metabolism. According to an article, “Alterations in brain insulin metabolism have been suggested as one pathophysiological factor underlying this neurodegenerative disorder. In line with this hypothesis, AD patients show reduced brain insulin receptor sensitivity.” (Freiherr, Hallschmid, Frey, Brünner, Chapman, Hölscher, & Benedict, 2013). Since insulin in the brain improves memory in cognitively healthy humans, clinical trials have discovered that intranasal insulin improves both memory performance and metabolic functions of the brain in patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. “In healthy participants, intranasal insulin administration over the course of 8 weeks improved performance on a declarative memory task (delayed recall) based on a word list that had to be remembered acutely and 1 week later. More recent studies have provided evidence that even a single acute dose of insulin (160 IU) enhances hippocampus-dependent memory processes, as measured by both spatial and working memory tasks. …show more content…
Furthermore, verbal working memory, a capacity that relies on activation of the frontal cortex, is improved after a single intranasal application of insulin.” (Freiherr, Hallschmid, Frey, Brünner, Chapman, Hölscher, & Benedict,