Quick Summary

Intranasal insulin halts the progression of Alzhiemer’s disease and enhances cognition in humans.

How to Buy: Go to a Walmart pharmacy and ask for Novolin R. It’s perfectly legal to buy over the counter without a prescription for $25.

Pour it into a nasal spray bottle and you’re good to go.
Nasal Spray Bottle
Nasal Spray Bottle (Swiveling Head)

Take 10IU after breakfast and 10IU after dinner.

Study Results

Intranasal insulin improved memory, caregiver-rated functional ability, and general cognition in Alzheimer’s Disease patients (see full study abstracts below for more info).

“Treatment with 20 IU of insulin improved delayed memory (P < .05), and both doses of insulin (20 and 40 IU) preserved caregiver-rated functional ability (P < .01)."

“Both insulin doses also preserved general cognition as assessed by the ADAS-cog score for younger participants and functional abilities as assessed by the ADCS-ADL scale for adults with AD (P < .05)."

How Does It Work?

Intranasal insulin bypasses the blood brain barrier and absorbs into the brain where it activates insulin receptors which are particularly prevalent in the hippocampus, hypothalamus, and cortex.

This picture explains it nicely!

What Type of Insulin?

“…insulin (Novolin R; Novo Nordisk, Princeton, New Jersey) was administered…”

Here’s what Novolin R looks like.

How Much Insulin?

“…36 participants received 10 IU of insulin twice a day…”

“…38 participants received 20 IU of insulin twice a day…”

Therefore, either take 10IU after breakfast and 10IU after dinner OR 20IU after breakfast and 20IU after dinner.

I would start with the lower dose (10IU).

I’ve done really well with 10IU twice a day in my own self-experiments for cognitive enhancement (although I don’t have Alzheimer’s).

How Was Insulin Administered?

“Saline or insulin (Novolin R; Novo Nordisk, Princeton, New Jersey) was administered after breakfast and dinner with a ViaNase nasal drug delivery device…”

Here’s the ViaNase.

While something like the ViaNase might be nice other human studies on intranasal insulin have used spray bottles or droppers with very good results.

I use this and it works great. Nasal Spray Bottles

Each spray should be about 10IU.

How Long Did They Take It?

“Participants received placebo (n = 30), 20 IU of insulin (n = 36), or 40 IU of insulin (n = 38) for 4 months…”

The subjects dosed for four months and the best part was, “No treatment-related severe adverse events occurred.”

Four months is the longest that I’ve seen intranasal insulin dosed in humans and I would currently consider it an upper limit until the results of the multi-year SNIFF trial are published (see link below to SNIFF study on intranasal insulin for Alzheimer’s).

How Do I Make My Own?

Simply purchase Novolin R, pour it into a nasal spray bottle, and store it in the fridge.

No need to dilute it or mix it with anything else.

It really is that easy!

I’ve discussed this in much greater detail here.

Where To Buy

Purchase Novolin R at a Walmart pharmacy legally over the counter without a prescription for $25.

Get nasal spray bottles here: Nasal Spray Bottles

The Science

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21911655

Arch Neurol. 2012 Jan;69(1):29-38. doi: 10.1001/archneurol.2011.233. Epub 2011 Sep 12.

Intranasal insulin therapy for Alzheimer disease and amnestic mild cognitive impairment: a pilot clinical trial.

Craft S1, Baker LD, Montine TJ, Minoshima S, Watson GS, Claxton A, Arbuckle M, Callaghan M, Tsai E, Plymate SR, Green PS, Leverenz J, Cross D, Gerton B.
Author information

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:
To examine the effects of intranasal insulin administration on cognition, function, cerebral glucose metabolism, and cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers in adults with amnestic mild cognitive impairment or Alzheimer disease (AD).
DESIGN:
Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.
SETTING:
Clinical research unit of a Veterans Affairs medical center.
PARTICIPANTS:
The intent-to-treat sample consisted of 104 adults with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (n = 64) or mild to moderate AD (n = 40). Intervention Participants received placebo (n = 30), 20 IU of insulin (n = 36), or 40 IU of insulin (n = 38) for 4 months, administered with a nasal drug delivery device (Kurve Technology, Bothell, Washington).
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:
Primary measures consisted of delayed story recall score and the Dementia Severity Rating Scale score, and secondary measures included the Alzheimer Disease’s Assessment Scale-cognitive subscale (ADAS-cog) score and the Alzheimer’s Disease Cooperative Study-activities of daily living (ADCS-ADL) scale. A subset of participants underwent lumbar puncture (n = 23) and positron emission tomography with fludeoxyglucose F 18 (n = 40) before and after treatment.
RESULTS:
Outcome measures were analyzed using repeated-measures analysis of covariance. Treatment with 20 IU of insulin improved delayed memory (P < .05), and both doses of insulin (20 and 40 IU) preserved caregiver-rated functional ability (P < .01). Both insulin doses also preserved general cognition as assessed by the ADAS-cog score for younger participants and functional abilities as assessed by the ADCS-ADL scale for adults with AD (P < .05). Cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers did not change for insulin-treated participants as a group, but, in exploratory analyses, changes in memory and function were associated with changes in the Aβ42 level and in the tau protein-to-Aβ42 ratio in cerebrospinal fluid. Placebo-assigned participants showed decreased fludeoxyglucose F 18 uptake in the parietotemporal, frontal, precuneus, and cuneus regions and insulin-minimized progression. No treatment-related severe adverse events occurred. CONCLUSIONS: These results support longer trials of intranasal insulin therapy for patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment and patients with AD. Trial Registration clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00438568.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17942819/

Neurology. 2008 Feb 5;70(6):440-8. Epub 2007 Oct 17.

Intranasal insulin improves cognition and modulates beta-amyloid in early AD.

Reger MA1, Watson GS, Green PS, Wilkinson CW, Baker LD, Cholerton B, Fishel MA, Plymate SR, Breitner JC, DeGroodt W, Mehta P, Craft S.
Author information
Erratum in
Neurology. 2008 Sep 9;71(11):866.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:
Reduced brain insulin signaling and low CSF-to-plasma insulin ratios have been observed in patients with Alzheimer disease (AD). Furthermore, intracerebroventricular or IV insulin administration improve memory, alter evoked potentials, and modulate neurotransmitters, possibly by augmenting low brain levels. After intranasal administration, insulin-like peptides follow extracellular pathways to the brain within 15 minutes.
OBJECTIVE:
We tested the hypothesis that daily intranasal insulin treatment would facilitate cognition in patients with early AD or its prodrome, amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI). The proportion of verbal information retained after a delay period was the planned primary outcome measure. Secondary outcome measures included attention, caregiver rating of functional status, and plasma levels of insulin, glucose, beta-amyloid, and cortisol.
METHODS:
Twenty-five participants were randomly assigned to receive either placebo (n = 12) or 20 IU BID intranasal insulin treatment (n = 13) using an electronic atomizer, and 24 participants completed the study. Participants, caregivers, and all clinical evaluators were blinded to treatment assignment. Cognitive measures and blood were obtained at baseline and after 21 days of treatment.
RESULTS:
Fasting plasma glucose and insulin were unchanged with treatment. The insulin-treated group retained more verbal information after a delay compared with the placebo-assigned group (p = 0.0374). Insulin-treated subjects also showed improved attention (p = 0.0108) and functional status (p = 0.0410). Insulin treatment raised fasting plasma concentrations of the short form of the beta-amyloid peptide (A beta 40; p = 0.0471) without affecting the longer isoform (A beta 42), resulting in an increased A beta 40/42 ratio (p = 0.0207).
CONCLUSIONS:
The results of this pilot study support further investigation of the benefits of intranasal insulin for patients with Alzheimer disease, and suggest that intranasal peptide administration may be a novel approach to the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders.

https://www.nia.nih.gov/alzheimers/clinical-trials/study-nasal-insulin-fight-forgetfulness-sniff

Study of Nasal Insulin to Fight Forgetfulness (SNIFF)

Overall Status:
Recruiting

Brief Description:
This Phase II/III clinical trial will examine whether a type of insulin, when administered as a nasal spray, improves memory in adults with a mild cognitive impairment or Alzheimer’s disease. The study will also provide evidence about how intranasal insulin works in the body.