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Menthol's benefits for Alzheimer's patients discovered

Menthol's benefits for Alzheimer's patients discovered A new study on mice has revealed that inhaling menthol can improve the cognitive abilities of Alzheimer's patients. The findings suggest that it may be able to stop some of the damage that Alzheimer's does to the brain. Immunologist Juan José Lasarte of the Center for Applied Medical Research in Spain and his colleagues noticed a decrease in the interleukin-1-beta (IL-1β) protein in mice exposed to menthol. This protein normally helps regulate the body's inflammatory response. But when this reaction gets out of control, it can cause harm. The decrease in IL-1b levels observed in the study was associated with improved cognitive abilities in both healthy mice and mice with Alzheimer's. The research team genetically edited and administered menthol inhalation treatment over a 6-month period on mice transplanted with Alzheimer's disease. This practice was found to prevent the impairment of the mice's cognitive abilities and memory, as well as push the IL-1β protein in the brain back to safe levels. The research, published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Frontiers in Immunology, suggests that treatments based on stimulating the olfactory system could be developed to counteract Alzheimer's and other central nervous system diseases. "We focused on the role of the olfactory system in the immune and central nervous systems and confirmed that menthol is an immune-stimulating odor in animal models," Lasarte said. Lasarte said they observed that short-term exposure to this substance for 6 months prevented cognitive decline in mice with Alzheimer's and, most interestingly, improved the cognitive ability of healthy young mice.

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