Diabetes drug defeats Alzheimer’s

A drug created to treat type 2 diabetes has shown an ability to reverse Alzheimer’s-related memory loss in mice, according to researchers at Lancaster University in England.

The drug, not named in the university’s report, is a triple threat; it combines three hormones that act as growth factors. While the hormones can help the pancreas deal with sugar, they also appear to restore brain cells under attack by Alzheimer’s-causing processes.

Persons with type 2 diabetes are statistically at greater risk of developing Alzheimer’s.

The drug was tested on mice genetically engineered to develop Alzheimer’s. After taking the concoction daily for two months, mice could better retain memories of the path through a maze than those not dosed. The treated mice also showed fewer protein clumps and tangles among their brain cells, a signature of the disease.

TRENDPOST: Liraglutide, an older diabetes drug, already is in human trials as an Alzheimer’s treatment. Tests of the new three-part drug could begin within three years.