Can insulin or a diabetes drug boost Alzheimer's treatment?

NCT ID NCT07756294

Not yet recruiting Disease control Sponsor: Wake Forest University Health Sciences Source: ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

First seen Aug 10, 2026 · Last updated Aug 11, 2026 · Updated 1 time

Summary

This trial asks whether adding intranasal insulin or empagliflozin to standard anti-amyloid therapy can improve outcomes for people with mild cognitive impairment or early Alzheimer's disease. Participants will receive one of the two study drugs or a placebo, alongside their prescribed anti-amyloid treatment. The study will track safety and cognitive changes to see if these add-ons offer extra benefit.

What this could mean

Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only — not medical advice or a prediction.

Active substance: Intranasal insulin and empagliflozin (an oral diabetes drug), each tested against placebo
What this could lead to: If successful, this could point toward a way to enhance the benefits of anti-amyloid treatments for early Alzheimer's disease.
What could go wrong: This is a small, early-phase trial, so results may not hold up in larger studies. The medications also carry potential side effects, and the added benefit over standard anti-amyloid therapy is unproven.

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Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

Alzheimer disease Cognitive Dysfunction Insulin Resistance

As listed by the trial registrant

The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.

ALZHEIMER DISEASE

Contacts and locations

Locations

Wake Forest Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (ADRC) Sticht Center for Healthy Aging

Winston-Salem, North Carolina, 27157, United States

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