By Neuroscience News
Menthol inhalation can improve cognitive abilities in animal models of Alzheimer’s disease, researchers report.
Short, repeated exposure to menthol can modulate the immune system and prevent cognitive decline commonly seen in Alzheimer’s.
Researchers found that the smell of menthol reduced the level of interleukin-1-beta (IL-1b), a protein crucial to the inflammatory response.
By inhibiting this protein with a specific drug, cognitive abilities were also improved in the mice models.
This research suggests the possibility of therapies based on stimulating the olfactory system to counteract Alzheimer’s and other central nervous system diseases.