DiseaseAlzheimer’s is the most common cause of dementia. 225,000 new cases are diagnosed each year in France. Researchers at Lancaster University in the United Kingdom have just tested the effectiveness of a drug originally created to treat the disease against the disease. Type 2 diabetes. The very encouraging results have been published in the journal Brain Research.
Reverse the process
Type 2 diabetes has been shown to be a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease, by promoting its progression. The anti-diabetic drug tested is said to be a “triple receptor”. It combines 3 molecules, GLP-1, GIP and glucagon, which are growth factors. This kind of molecule is altered in the brains of patients with Alzheimer’s disease.
The scientists used transgenic mice, which have genes responsible for Alzheimer’s disease. They selected the older mice, where the disease stage was most advanced, and performed a maze test. Learning and Memory are necessary there to find its way better and better. In treated mice, the drug dramatically improved memory formation, the number of connections (synapses) between neurons, and reduced the amount of amyloid plaque associated with disease development. It also slowed the rate of loss of nerve cells.
The researchers observed that this drug had “significantly reversed memory loss” in mice. According to them, testing drugs already developed to treat other conditions could benefit people with Alzheimer’s disease as well as other forms of dementia by making it possible to obtain new drugs more quickly.
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