DISCOVERIES
Two Birds, One Stone
Sometimes, a highly sought solution gets its start in an unlikely place, suggests new evidence that a drug for type 2 diabetes can also decrease the effects of Alzheimer’s.
In a study published recently in the journal Brain Research, scientists examined the effects of a new “triple action” medication that combines three different drugs used for type 2 diabetes for its impact on dementia.
Stymied insulin production – the defining factor of type 2 diabetes – has long been known to be linked to brain degeneration, and previous reports on the effects of diabetes drugs on combating dementia have shown positive results.
But this new, multi-action drug showed even more promising results than those previously seen. Mice with genetic mutations that cause Alzheimer’s blazed through maze tests and displayed slower degeneration of nerve cells after being injected with the new drug.
Though some researchers remain skeptical, lead researcher Christian Holscher of Lancaster University in the United Kingdom thinks the drug “holds clear promise” of quickly being used on Alzheimer’s patients since it’s already cleared for human use – a sentiment echoed by British Alzheimer’s societies, the Independent reported.
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