Alzheimer's Cure News 2018: Diabetes Drug Reverses Memory Loss, Experts Learn
A team of experts from Lancaster University accidentally found a potentially effective Alzheimer's cure, while researching on a diabetes drug. The medication apparently reversed memory loss on the study's test subjects.
The diabetes drug included a combination of GLP-1, GIP and Glucagon, otherwise called a triple receptor. Experts gave the medicine to its mice test subjects and then followed it up with maze tests.
The experts wanted to check if the diabetes drug could affect memory function negatively. Instead, the mice demonstrated improved memory and the experts also noticed a significant reduction in the plaque buildup and inflammation inside its brains that are usually common to those with Alzheimer's.
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"These very promising outcomes demonstrate the efficacy of these novel multiple receptor drugs that originally were developed to treat type 2 diabetes but have shown consistent neuroprotective effects in several studies," lead researcher Christian Holscher stated. "Clinical studies with an older version of this drug type already showed very promising results in people with Alzheimer's disease or with mood disorders."
The discovery, however, is not a coincidence since experts believe that diabetes, specifically Type 2 diabetes, and Alzheimer's are linked. Further tests will still be undertaken to see the viability of the drug on humans since the research only studied its effects on mice.
"With no new treatments in nearly 15 years, we need to find new ways of tackling Alzheimer's," Alzheimer's Society head Dr. Doug Brown said. "It's imperative that we explore whether drugs developed to treat other conditions can benefit people with Alzheimer's."
More than five million Americans suffer from Alzheimer's disease, which has become the sixth leading cause of death among that above 65-year-old in the United States. Some 16 million American families also deal with someone with Alzheimer's or dementia, which can be financial, emotionally and physically draining. Finding a cure or a preventive medication will definitely change the course for these families.
