Discovering new treatments for patients with memory loss
Memory and other cognitive disorders such as dementia, Alzheimer’s disease and age-related memory loss bring daily challenges for patients and their loved ones. Our center’s health care and research teams help patients and families manage those challenges.
We help determine the cause of memory loss and guide patients and families, offering cutting-edge research and the latest therapies. Our team of doctors, nurses, neuropsychologists, social workers, pharmacists and researchers is located in HealthPartners Neuroscience Center in St. Paul, Minn.
Since 1977, we have conducted neuroscience research to find ways to improve the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of memory loss. We are nationally and internationally known for developing intranasal drug delivery, which delivers medication through the nose to target the brain for the treatment of memory loss and dementia.
While we are working hard to find a cure, we also support patients in their day-to-day lives by encouraging the Four Fs (fitness, fun, food and families/friends) to improve brain health and giving patients access to clinical trials.
Key projects
Research to improve memory
- Our intranasal insulin treatment restores brain function and energy. When sprayed high into the nasal cavity, insulin travels rapidly into the brain along the nerves involved in smell. It has been shown to be safe and effective at improving memory, attention and function in multiple clinical trials in normal adults and patients with mild cognitive impairment or Alzheimer’s.
- Our intranasal deferoxamine treatment can treat and prevent brain damage in animals related to Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, stroke and other neurological disorders. It is now ready for research studies in humans.
- Our intranasal adult stem cell treatment has been shown to be effective in treating brain disorders in animals, but safety studies are needed before it can be tested in humans.
