Intranasal Insulin Lowers Food Intake, Improves Memory
By MedHeadlines • Feb 21st, 2008 • Category: Diabetes, Diet, Drugs, Memory, NeurologyInsulin administered intranasally affects men and women differently when it comes to food intake and memory function according to a study to be published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM).
Previous studies have shown that insulin plays an important role in the regulation of central nervous functions such as energy metabolism and memory processing. This study focused on the effects of a single dose of intranasal insulin on these functions and to determine any gender differences. What the study found was that insulin administered intranasally, acutely decreases food intake in men but not women and the compound improves memory function in women but not men. For the study, 14 men and 18 women were administered regular human insulin intranasally before performing a battery of cognitive tests. Subsequently, the study subjects took part in a breakfast buffet and their food intake was measured.
The pancreatic hormone insulin helps the regulation of central nervous functions such as the neuroendocrine control of energy metabolism and memory processing. Insulin reaches the brain via a saturable transport system, and binds to receptors primarily located in cerebral cortex, olfactory bulb, hippocampus, cerebellum, and hypothalamus.
“Our findings show that men are more sensitive to the central anorexigenic actions of insulin whereas women benefit to a greater extent from its acute cognitive effects,” said Dr. Christian Benedict of the University of Lubeck in Germany. “Gender differences will have to be considered in the possible future development of intranasal insulin therapeutics.”
Source: Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism
