Metformin Linked To Reduced Dementia Risk In Veterans With Type 2 Diabetes
Metformin Linked to Reduced Dementia Risk in Veterans With Type 2 Diabetes Metformin Linked to Reduced Dementia Risk in Veterans With Type 2 Diabetes Up to 60% of people with diabetes will develop dementia. The use of metformin in older patients with type 2 diabetes is associated with a lower risk for dementia compared with the use of a sulfonylurea, according to the results of a retrospective cohort study published in Neurology. A cohort of US veterans age 65 with type 2 diabetes , who were new users of either metformin or a sulfonylurea and did not have dementia, were enrolled in the study. Follow-up took place after 2 years of treatment. In order to account for confounding by indication, the investigators developed a propensity score (PS) and utilized inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) methods. The hazard ratio (HR) of incident dementia was estimated via Cox proportional models. The researchers identified 17,200 new users of metformin and 11,440 new users of a sulfonylurea (mean age, 73.5; mean HbA1c, 6.8%). A total of 4906 cases of dementia were diagnosed over 5-year follow-up period, with 2177 (12.7%) in metformin users and 2729 (23.9%) in sulfonylurea users. The crude HR for any dementia diagnosed in metformin vs sulfonylurea users was 0.67 (95% CI, 0.61-0.73; P <.001) and 0.78 (95% CI, 0.72-0.83; P <.001) in patients age <75 and 75, respectively. After adjustment, the results continued to be statistically significant in veterans age <75 (HR 0.89; 95% CI, 0.79-0.99; P =.033) but not in veterans 75 (HR 0.96; 95% CI, 0.87-1.05; P =.332). A significantly lower risk for developing dementia was also observed in a subset of younger, white veterans with hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels 7% (HR 0.76; 95% CI, 0.63-0.91; P =.003) and with normal renal function ( Continue reading >>
Study Finds That Diabetes Medication Can Reduce The Risk Of Dementia
Study Finds That Diabetes Medication Can Reduce the Risk of Dementia Type 2 diabetes is a condition that normally occurs in late adulthood, and patients with the disease are at increased risk for dementiawhen compared to non-diabetics. In a recent study, Michael Heneka and demographers Anne Fink and Gabriele Doblhammer examined how anti-diabetic medication influences this risk. The study included analysis ofdiseases and medication information Knowledge is power when living with alzheimers. Get access to the webs leading Alzheimer news & insights for as little as 16/day. Subscribe or log in to access all post and page content. Next Read: The Longest Day To Support Alzheimer's Patients And Their Caregivers Daniela Semedo, PhD :Daniela holds a PhD in Clinical Psychology from The University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom, a MSc in Health Psychology and a BSc in Clinical Psychology. Her work has been focused on vulnerability to psychopathology and early identification and intervention in psychosis. Continue reading >>
Diabetes Medication Reduces Dementia Risk
Follow all of ScienceDaily's latest research news and top science headlines ! Diabetes medication reduces dementia risk Analysis of health insurance data suggests preventive effect DZNE - German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases Treating people with type 2 diabetes, also known as 'age-related diabetes' with antidiabetics reduces their risk for Alzheimer's and other types of dementia. The risk is most significantly reduced by the drug pioglitazone. Researchers draw this conclusion from an analysis of health insurance data. Patients with type 2 diabetes have a dysfunctional sugar metabolism because the essential hormone insulin does not work effectively. Once the disease reaches an advanced stage, the body stops producing insulin altogether, which means that it has to be administered externally. Type 2 diabetes most commonly occurs in late adulthood, and it has long been known that it can affect the patient's mental health: Patients have a greater risk of developing dementia than non-diabetics. However, how does antidiabetic medication influence this risk? Neurologist Michael Heneka and the demographers Anne Fink and Gabriele Doblhammer investigated this issue in the current study. Their work is based on data from the years 2004 to 2010 provided by the German public health insurance company AOK. These data set comprises information about diseases and medication related to more than 145,000 men and women aged 60 and over. Long-term treatment reduced dementia risk The analysis confirmed previous findings that diabetics have an increased risk of developing dementia. However, it was also found that this risk can significantly be modified by pioglitazone. This drug is taken as tablets. It is applied in short-term as well as in long-term treatment of diabetes as long as th Continue reading >>
- A Novel Intervention Including Individualized Nutritional Recommendations Reduces Hemoglobin A1c Level, Medication Use, and Weight in Type 2 Diabetes
- A Novel Intervention Including Individualized Nutritional Recommendations Reduces Hemoglobin A1c Level, Medication Use, and Weight in Type 2 Diabetes
- Why having more friends reduces your risk of type 2 diabetes
German Database Study Hints Diabetes Drug Cuts Alzheimer's Risk
German database study hints diabetes drug cuts Alzheimer's risk (Reuters) - A large German study is the latest clinical trial to suggest that a cheap generic treatment for diabetes can stave off symptoms of Alzheimers disease, although conclusive proof from a more formal trial could be about five years away. Earlier studies have suggested that people and animals given the widely used pill for type-2 diabetes, called pioglitazone, were less likely to develop Alzheimers or other forms of dementia. The medicine is sold under the brand name Actos by Japanese drugmaker Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd. Researchers in the new trial used routine data from German healthcare plans for the years 2004 until 2010. They tracked a database of about 146,000 patients age 60 and older who initially did not have evidence of dementia. The analysis showed that 13,841 subjects eventually developed dementia, and that for those taking pioglitazone the risk of dementia was significantly reduced with each additional three months the drug was prescribed. The long-term use of pioglitazone reduces the risk of dementia incidence, based on examination of health claims data, concluded Anne Fink, a researcher for the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases who helped lead the trial. Her data was presented Monday at the annual meeting of the Alzheimers Association International Conference in Copenhagen. Fink speculated that pioglitazone helped prevent Alzheimers by reducing inflammation in the brain and nervous system, although other effects of the drug might also be at play. Separate earlier studies of patients with type 2 diabetes have found that those with poor blood sugar control are much more likely to develop dementia. Moreover, those taking medicines like Actos - called thiazolidinediones (TZD Continue reading >>
Link Between Diabetes And Alzheimers Deepens
Health |Link Between Diabetes and Alzheimers Deepens Several new studies suggest that diabetes increases the risk of Alzheimers disease, adding to a store of evidence that links the disorders. The studies involve only Type 2 diabetes, the most common kind, which is usually related to obesity . The connection raises an ominous prospect: that increases in diabetes, a major concern in the United States and worldwide, may worsen the rising toll from Alzheimers. The findings also add dementia to the cloud of threats that already hang over people with diabetes, including heart disease , strokes, kidney failure, blindness and amputations. But some of the studies also hint that measures to prevent or control diabetes may lower the dementia risk, and that certain diabetes drugs should be tested to find whether they can help Alzheimers patients, even those without diabetes. Current treatments for Alzheimers can provide only a modest improvement in symptoms and cannot stop the progression of the disease. The new findings were presented yesterday by the Alzheimers Association at a six-day conference in Madrid attended by 5,000 researchers from around the world. Alzheimers affects 1 in 10 people over age 65, and nearly half of people over 85. About 4.5 million Americans have it, and taking care of them costs $100 billion a year, according to the association. The number of patients is expected to grow, possibly reaching 11.3 million to 16 million by 2050, the association said. But those projections do not include a possible increase from diabetes. Alzheimers is going to swamp the health care system, said Dr. John C. Morris, a neurology professor at Washington University in St. Louis and an adviser to the Alzheimers Association. Not everyone with diabetes gets Alzheimers, and not all Continue reading >>
Could A Diabetes Drug Help Beat Alzheimer's Disease?
Most of the 20 million people diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in the U.S. take metformin to help control their blood glucose. The drug is ultrasafe: millions of diabetics have taken it for decades with few side effects beyond gastrointestinal discomfort. And it is ultracheap: a month's supply costs $4 at Walmart. And now new studies hint that metformin might help protect the brain from developing diseases of aging, even in nondiabetics. Diabetes is a risk factor for neurodegenerative diseases, but using metformin is associated with a dramatic reduction in their incidence. In the most comprehensive study yet of metformin's cognitive effects, Qian Shi and her colleagues at Tulane University followed 6,000 diabetic veterans and showed that the longer a patient used metformin, the lower the individual's chances of developing Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and other types of dementia and cognitive impairment. In line with some of the previous, smaller studies of long-term metformin use, patients in the new study who used the drug longer than four years had one quarter the rate of disease as compared with patients who used only insulin or insulin plus other antidiabetic drugs—bringing diabetics' risk level to that of the general population. The findings were presented in June at the American Diabetes Association's Scientific Sessions meeting. Even in the absence of diabetes, Alzheimer's patients often have decreased insulin sensitivity in the brain, says Suzanne Craft, a neuroscientist who studies insulin resistance in neurodegenerative disease at the Wake Forest School of Medicine. The association has led some people to call Alzheimer's “type 3 diabetes.” Insulin plays many roles in the brain—it is involved in memory formation, and it helps to keep synapses Continue reading >>
Testing The Effect Of The Diabetes Drug Liraglutide In Alzheimer's Disease
Amount: 338,525 contribution to larger trial Scientific Title: Evaluating the effects of the novel GLP-1 analogue, Liraglutide, in patients with Alzheimer's disease (ELAD) study There is a connection between type 2 diabetes andAlzheimer's disease; people with type 2 diabetes are much more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease than healthy people of the same age group. Recently, a drug used to treat type 2 diabetes, called liraglutide, has shown promise for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. Inlaboratory studiesit improves symptoms of Alzheimer's and reduces the amount ofamyloidplaques in the brain, a hallmark of the disease. In this study, the researchers are going to test the effect of liraglutide in people with Alzheimer's disease, to see whether the drug has positive effects on brain function and cognition. Theclinical trialwill recruit participants from around the country who have been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and are still considered to be in theearly stages. Each participant will receive either liraglutide or a placebo treatment, via injection, for one year. Theirbrain will be scannedat the start of the experiment and after 12 months to look for changes in brain glucose, inflammation and brain volume, all indicators of Alzheimer's. Participants will also undergo cognitive tests to assess whether the drug has an effect on memory and thinking. This trial is aPhase 2b trialwhich means that in addition to patient benefits, it will test for side-effects of the drug in people with Alzheimer's disease. Update: During the trial, people receiving liraglutide reported a perceived change in theirsymptoms afterthey stopped taking the drug. Therefore, at the end of the 12 month clinical trial, all participants will be offered the opportunity to join a 12 month op Continue reading >>
Dementia News: Diabetes Drug Could Treat Alzheimer's Disease | Health | Life & Style | Express.co.uk
Diabetes drug could treat dementia: Injecting the drug could work Experts have now said the finding could lead to a blood test to diagnose dementia - which could replace lumbar punctures. Injecting the drug could move telltale signs of the disease from the brain into the bloodstream where they could be detected by an injection. "A single injection of pramlintide into our patients was well tolerated and reduced the amyloid burden as well as lowered the concentrations of amyloid-beta peptides, a major component of Alzheimer's disease in the brain, said Professor Wendy Qiu, of Boston University School of Medicine in the US. It is thought amyloid proteins, which form between nerve cells lead to brain cell damage. Dementia treatment: Blood test could help diagnose the disease A single injection of pramlintide into our patients was well tolerated and reduced the amyloid burden Dementia is now the leading cause of death in Britain and excitement is growing that scientists are getting closer to dveloping the first drug that combats it, rather than just treats the symptoms. Pramlintide is just one of the drugs going through trials to treat Alzheimers. In the study, 50 subjects were recruited, ten of whom had Alzheimer's and seven Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) that can lead to dementia. Professor Qiu said amylin is a hormone that relaxes arteries and increases blood flow to the brain. Dementia affects the ability to remember, think and reason. Here are the early signs to look out for in yourself and loved ones. Continue reading >>
Coffee Linked To Lower Dementia Risk
Research |Coffee Linked to Lower Dementia Risk Drinking coffee may do more than just keep you awake. A new study suggests an intriguing potential link to mental health later in life, as well. A team of Swedish and Danish researchers tracked coffee consumption in a group of 1,409 middle-age men and women for an average of 21 years. During that time, 61 participants developed dementia , 48 with Alzheimers disease . After controlling for numerous socioeconomic and health factors, including high cholesterol and high blood pressure , the scientists found that the subjects who had reported drinking three to five cups of coffee daily were 65 percent less likely to have developed dementia, compared with those who drank two cups or less. People who drank more than five cups a day also were at reduced risk of dementia, the researchers said, but there were not enough people in this group to draw statistically significant conclusions. Dr. Miia Kivipelto, an associate professor of neurology at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm and lead author of the study, does not as yet advocate drinking coffee as a preventive health measure. This is an observational study, she said. We have no evidence that for people who are not drinking coffee, taking up drinking will have a protective effect. Dr. Kivipelto and her colleagues suggest several possibilities for why coffee might reduce the risk of dementia later in life. First, earlier studies have linked coffee consumption with a decreased risk of type 2 diabetes , which in turn has been associated with a greater risk of dementia. In animal studies, caffeine has been shown to reduce the formation of amyloid plaques in the brain, one of the hallmarks of Alzheimers disease. Finally, coffee may have an antioxidant effect in the bloodstream, red Continue reading >>
Higher Levels Of Education Linked To Lower Dementia Risk In Older African Americans
Higher levels of education linked to lower dementia risk in older African Americans A newly published observational study from the Regenstrief Institute and Indiana University has found that increased levels of education, particularly for those who grew up in low-income rural areas, was significantly associated with the decrease in the risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease in older African Americans previously reported by the same research group. Most of those elderly African Americans in the study who indicated rural residence during childhood came from the South as well as Kentucky and Tennessee and were part of the "great migration" of southern African Americans to Indianapolis and other northern U.S. cities that occurred in the early part of the twentieth century. "This study underscores the potential impact of a deleterious childhood environment on diseases of the elderly including dementia and Alzheimer's disease," said study corresponding author Hugh Hendrie, MBChB, DSc, a Regenstrief Institute and IU Center for Aging Research scientist and IU School of Medicine chairman emeritus of psychiatry. "It is encouraging to note that improving these conditions -- such as providing greater childhood education opportunities - may lead to decreases in the incidence of these devastating brain diseases." "Low education can be a marker for adverse environmental influences in childhood such as the use of home remedies, poor diet, mistrust of the medical system and religious or cultural beliefs on seeking health care," said study co-author Valerie Smith-Gamble, MD, a geriatric psychiatrist. "Higher educational attainment may alter these negative influences of childhood by lifestyles changes such as healthy food choices and exercise, and the establishment of trust of the medi Continue reading >>
Alzheimer's Treatment: Diabetes Drug Holds Promise For Fighting Disease After 'significantly Reversing' Memory Loss
Alzheimer's treatment: Diabetes drug holds promise for fighting disease after 'significantly reversing' memory loss Trial in mice improved memory and lowered levels of defective molecules that form nerve killing plaques A drug developed for type 2 diabetes significantly reverses memory loss and could have potential as a new treatment for Alzheimers disease and other neurodegenerative diseases, scientists say. The study, by UK and Chinese universities, is the first to look at a new combined diabetes drug and foundimprovements in several characteristic symptoms of Alzheimers. Lead researcherProfessor ChristianHolscher,from Lancaster University, said these very promising outcomes show multi-action drugs developed for type 2 diabetes consistently showneurological protectiveeffects. Sharing the full story, not just the headlines Independent academics said a reduction in nerve-cell-killingprotein molecules was particularly interesting and this waslikelyto beanother avenue in the search for an elusive drug to combat dementia. He has previously reported optimistic findings from an olderdiabetes drug, liraglutide, and clinical trials in humans are currently under way. This latest study, published in the journal Brain Research,looked at a triple action treatment that combine three different drugs for type 2 diabetes,acting on biological pathways that could also have an impact on dementia. Type 2 diabetes is a known risk factor for Alzhemiers disease and impaired production of insulin the hormone that people with diabetes dont produce sufficiently to control their blood sugar is linked to brain degeneration. The identification of this link had a twofold benefit, according to charities. It opened up new research and drug development opportunities, such as this study. But it also m Continue reading >>
Diabetes Drug For Alzheimers Explored - Nhs Choices - News Articles - Modality Partnership
NHS Choices - Diabetes drug for Alzheimers explored A common diabetes drug could be redeveloped as a new treatment for Alzheimer's, reported the BBC. It said that metformin may help prevent the formation of tau tangles, a key brain abnormality linked to the disease. This study investigated whether metformin has any effect on the tau proteins that form these tangles. In studies of mouse cells, metformin increased the activity of an enzyme that can counteract the development of the tangles. Similar findings were also seen in live mice given the drug. These are promising findings,but this is early research and many questions still need answering. It is not known if the drug can prevent or treat the brain changes seen in Alzheimers in humans or if it can help with memory, cognition and recognition problems. Also, the doses used in these experiments on mice were much higher than the equivalent doses used to treat diabetes in humans. It is not known if an equivalent human dose would be safe. This study was carried out by researchers from the Max-Planck Institute, the Charit Medical School, the German Centre for Neurodegenerative Diseases, and the University of Dundee and the University of Innsbruck in Scotland. It was published by the peer-reviewed journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The study was funded by the Volkswagen Stiftung, Tenovus, the Tyrolian Future Foundation, and the Integrated Center of Research and Therapy of the Medical University of Innsbruck. The BBC covered the story accurately, noting this is early stage research not yet carried out in humans. The source of the Daily Mails claim that metformin could be administered in combination with resveratrol is unclear, as the researchers did not use resveratrol in their study, nor do they make a Continue reading >>
Well-controlled Hba1c In Diabetes Linked To Lower Dementia Risk
Well-Controlled HbA1c in Diabetes Linked to Lower Dementia Risk Well-Controlled HbA1c in Diabetes Linked to Lower Dementia Risk Well-Controlled HbA1c in Diabetes Linked to Lower Dementia Risk HealthDay News Tighter blood glucose control may have a protective effect against dementia in patients with type 2 diabetes , according to new research presented at the annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes in Stockholm, Sweden. The study included almost 350,000 people with type 2 diabetes. They were all registered in the Swedish National Diabetes Registry between January 2004 and December 2012. They had no history of dementia when they were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. The mean age was 67 years when the study began. Study participants were tracked until the study ended in 2012 or they were hospitalized for dementia or died. Using a computer model, the researchers calculated the link between average blood glucose levels (via HbA1c levels) and dementia. Slightly more than 3% of those in the study 11,035 people were admitted to the hospital with dementia during the nearly five-year follow-up period. After taking other variables into account, the researchers found that those with HbA1c levels of 10.5% or higher were 50% more likely to be diagnosed with dementia than were people with HbA1c levels of 6.5% or less. Those who'd had a previous stroke were 40% more likely to develop dementia versus those who had not had a stroke. "The positive association between HbA1c and risk of dementia in fairly young patients with type 2 diabetes indicates a potential for prevention of dementia with improved blood sugar control," wrote study author Aidin Rawshani, from the National Diabetes Register and Institute of Medicine in Gothenburg, Sweden, and colleagues. Continue reading >>
Diabetes Drug May Reverse Effects Of Alzheimer's Disease
Diabetes Drug May Reverse Effects Of Alzheimer's Disease 2 January 2018, 6:47 am EST By Charmagne Nojas Tech Times A therapeutic drug created for Type 2 diabetes has been discovered to hold potential in reversing dementia caused by Alzheimer's disease. Aside from being a known risk factor for the disease, Type 2 diabetes is also linked to its progression. Apparently, insulin does not only regulate blood sugar levels. It plays a critical role in protecting the brain from atrophy. Since Type 2 diabetes impedes production of the hormone, it exposes an affected person to an array of neurodegenerative disorders, not only Alzheimer's. The drug worked in diabetics by increasing their insulin sensitivity. It contains GLP-1/GIP/Glucagon, which serve as indicators of Alzheimer's . Reduced levels of the three hormones are found in brains of patients diagnosed with the disorder. Potential Alzheimer's Treatment Fights Brain Degeneration Through Multiple Ways To prove the drug's effectiveness in combating Alzheimer's, an international team of researchers led by Christian Holscher of Lancaster University tested it on aged mice with mutated human genes carrying a hereditary form of the disease. The transgenic animals were also in the advanced stages of brain atrophy. The team reports through a study that after a maze test, the mice exhibited an improvement in learning and memory as well as higher levels of GLP-1/GIP/Glucagon; lowered amount of amyloid plaque in the brain, a protein that is toxic to neurons; decreased inflammation and oxidative stress; and slower nerve cell deterioration. "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," Holscher says in a report. The study was fun Continue reading >>
Diabetes Medication Reduces Dementia Risk
Diabetes medication reduces dementia risk Analysis of health insurance data suggests preventive effect DZNE - German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases This news release is available in German . Patients with type 2 diabetes have a dysfunctional sugar metabolism because the essential hormone insulin does not work effectively. Once the disease reaches an advanced stage, the body stops producing insulin altogether, which means that it has to be administered externally. Type 2 diabetes most commonly occurs in late adulthood, and it has long been known that it can affect the patient's mental health: Patients have a greater risk of developing dementia than non-diabetics. However, how does antidiabetic medication influence this risk? Neurologist Michael Heneka and the demographers Anne Fink and Gabriele Doblhammer investigated this issue in the current study. Their work is based on data from the years 2004 to 2010 provided by the German public health insurance company AOK. These data set comprises information about diseases and medication related to more than 145,000 men and women aged 60 and over. Long-term treatment reduced dementia risk The analysis confirmed previous findings that diabetics have an increased risk of developing dementia. However, it was also found that this risk can significantly be modified by pioglitazone. This drug is taken as tablets. It is applied in short-term as well as in long-term treatment of diabetes as long as the body is still capable of producing its own insulin. "Treatment with pioglitazone showed a remarkable side benefit. It was able to significantly decrease the risk of dementia," says Doblhammer. "The longer the treatment, the lower the risk." Risk reduction was most noticeable when the drug was administered for at least two years. D Continue reading >>
- A Novel Intervention Including Individualized Nutritional Recommendations Reduces Hemoglobin A1c Level, Medication Use, and Weight in Type 2 Diabetes
- A Novel Intervention Including Individualized Nutritional Recommendations Reduces Hemoglobin A1c Level, Medication Use, and Weight in Type 2 Diabetes
- Why having more friends reduces your risk of type 2 diabetes
