New research this week is the latest to suggest that some drugs aimed at treating type 2 diabetes may also help prevent high-risk dementia. group. The study found that older adults who used older classes of antidiabetic drugs were less likely to develop dementia than those who used other common antidiabetic drugs. may warrant new clinical trials to confirm the untapped potential of these agents, the authors say.
Dementia is a progressive and ultimately fatal loss of cognitive function that steadily impairs a person’s ability to remember, reason, and ultimately perform basic tasks such as eating. .Dementia has several different forms And there are many different factors that predispose people to developing it, including our genetics. Suspicious Contributor the risk of dementia Type 2 diabetes. This has led some researchers to wonder if drugs that can successfully manage diabetes may also reduce the risk of dementia.
Unfortunately, research on this connection is mixed. some research Common antidiabetic drugs like metformin have been shown to be associated with a lower risk of dementia, Other research show No potential profit. In this new study, researchers decided to look at a class of diabetes drugs that has received little attention in the field of dementia research, drugs known as thiazolidinediones, or TZDs.
The team analyzed the medical records of more than 500,000 people with type 2 diabetes aged 60 and over who received care through the largest interconnected health care system, the Department of Veterans Affairs. They compared the long-term outcomes of people who took TZDs for at least a year to people who took other diabetes drugs such as metformin and another class of drugs called sulfonylureas.These people were diagnosed as dementia-free before starting medication and were followed for an average of nearly 7 years. used as a flock Options for Type 2 Diabetes and Newbies Predetermined Their diabetes medication tends to make them healthier than the typical patient.
During the study period, people taking TZDs alone were 22% less likely to be diagnosed with any form of dementia if: They also found that these people were 11% less likely to be specifically diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia, compared to those taking metformin alone. Furthermore, patients 57% less likely to develop vascular dementia, which accounts for about 10% of cases. Here are the findings: It was published BMJ Open Diabetes Research & Care Tuesday.
Dementia has multiple causes, which can complicate the preventive effects of TZDs and other drugs. However, because circulation problems are common in diabetics and a known risk factor for vascular dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, the researchers believe that TZDs could be a major benefit by promoting healthier circulation. claims that it may work to prevent dementia.
These results have shown a correlation between taking TZDs and a reduced risk of dementia, not decisive cause and effectAnd TZD is not free from its own concerns. These drugs were developed in his 1990s and are still frequently used today.but most of the time As a second line option. In the mid-2000s, the Food and Drug Administration put a warning label on his TZD drug rosiglitazone because some studies suggested that certain of his TZDs may increase the risk of heart attacks. .Subsequent studies failed to confirm this relationship, and the warning label was finally removedHowever, more recent research suggests that rekindled This discussion, and no medicine yet Recommended For patients at high risk of heart failure.
That said, the authors say the findings should encourage more research into the potential benefits of these drugs for dementia, including clinical trials. For example, the team found that people taking only sulfonylureas were actually less likely to develop dementia. They found they were more likely to develop dementia than people taking metformin or TZDs. It may be worthwhile to use it in combination with metformin or TZDs, the researchers say. It is also greater in overweight or obese people, suggesting that these patients benefit most. have also been studied Because it can prevent dementia.
“Our findings provide additional information to assist clinicians in choosing [antidiabetic medications] It is for patients with mild or moderate type 2 diabetes who are at high risk for dementia,” the authors wrote.
