The disease ofAlzheimer’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 this disease. Type 2 diabetes. The very encouraging results were published in the journal BrainResearch.
Reverse the process
Type 2 diabetes has been shown to be a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease, promoting its progression. The antidiabetic 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 brain of patients with Alzheimer’s disease.
The scientists used transgenic mice, possessing genes responsible for Alzheimer’s disease. They selected the older mice, where the stage of the disease was the most advanced, and performed a maze test. learning and Memory are necessary to find your way better and better. In treated mice, the drug significantly improved memory formation, the number of connections (synapses) between neurons, and reduced the amount of amyloid plaque linked to disease development. It also slowed the rate of nerve cell loss.
The researchers observed that this drug “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 allowing new drugs to be obtained more quickly.
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