Insulin effects on CSF norepinephrine and cognition in Alzheimer's disease

• Published in: Neurobiology of aging 2006, Vol.27 (1), p.38-41
• Main Authors: Watson, G. Stennis, Bernhardt, Tanja, Reger, Mark A., Cholerton, Brenna A., Baker, Laura D., Peskind, Elaine R., Asthana, Sanjay, Plymate, Stephen R., Frölich, Lutz, Craft, Suzanne
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aged; Aging; Aging - cerebrospinal fluid; Alzheimer Disease - cerebrospinal fluid; Alzheimer Disease - diagnosis; Alzheimer Disease - etiology; Alzheimer's disease; Amnestic mild cognitive impairment; Attention; Biological and medical sciences; Cerebrospinal fluid; Cognition - drug effects; Cognition Disorders - cerebrospinal fluid; Cognition Disorders - complications; Cognition Disorders - diagnosis; Degenerative and inherited degenerative diseases of the nervous system. Leukodystrophies. Prion diseases; Female; Humans; Injections, Intravenous; Insulin; Insulin - administration & dosage; Lumbar puncture; Male; Medical sciences; Memory; Neurology; Norepinephrine; Norepinephrine - cerebrospinal fluid
• ISSN: 0197-4580; 1558-1497
• DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2004.11.011

We assessed the effects of induced hyperinsulinemia on plasma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of norepinephrine (NE) and on cognition for patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and normal older adults. For normal adults, insulin increased plasma and CSF NE levels; also, recall for paraphrased details of a story improved as CSF NE levels increased. Mental control was positively correlated with CSF levels of NE for patients. These findings demonstrate that raising peripheral insulin levels can modulate CNS NE levels and suggest that insulin-stimulated increases in NE may modulate cognitive functions.