A research collaboration, including the University of Arizona, has found that an older class of type 2 diabetes drugs, known as glitazones or thiazolidinediones (TZDs), is associated with a 22% reduced risk of dementia.
This suggests that these drugs might aid in preventing dementia in patients with mild or moderate type 2 diabetes.
Connecting Diabetes and Dementia
Researchers have noted physiological similarities between type 2 diabetes and dementia, sparking interest in the potential use of diabetes drugs to prevent or treat dementia.
Methodology of the Study
The team compared the dementia risk in older individuals with type 2 diabetes treated with either a sulfonylurea or a TZD, against those treated with metformin alone.
They analyzed electronic health records from the national Veteran Affairs (VA) Health System from January 2000 to December 2019, involving 559,106 people diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.
Only older patients (aged 60 or more) who received a first prescription of metformin, a sulfonylurea (such as tolbutamide, glimepiride, glipizide, or glyburide), or a TZD (rosiglitazone or pioglitazone) between January 2001 and December 2017 were included in the study.
These patients’ health was monitored for an average of nearly eight years.
Findings of the Study
After at least a year of drug treatment, the researchers found that the use of a TZD alone was linked with a 22% lower risk of any cause of dementia compared to the use of metformin alone. Specifically, TZD use was associated with an 11% lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease and a 57% lower risk of vascular dementia.
The risk of dementia was found to be 11% lower when metformin and TZD were used in combination, but it was 12% higher for the use of a sulfonylurea drug alone.
The researchers suggest that adding either metformin or a TZD to a sulfonylurea may mitigate these effects.
The benefits of a TZD seemed to be more pronounced in patients younger than 75 and those who were overweight or obese, underlining the significance of early dementia prevention.
What Lies Ahead?
Based on their findings, the researchers proposed that future studies aimed at repurposing diabetes drugs for dementia prevention should prioritize TZDs.
For those interested in dementia prevention, it may be beneficial to look into studies exploring the Mediterranean diet’s potential for boosting brain health and the role of Vitamin B supplements in reducing dementia risk.
Further insight into brain health can be gained from recent studies on the memory-enhancing effects of cranberries and the impact of alcohol, coffee, and tea consumption on cognitive decline.
This noteworthy research was published in BMJ Open Diabetes Research & Care and led by Xin Tang and colleagues.
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If you care about dementia, please read studies about Vitamin B9 deficiency linked to higher dementia risk, and flavonoid-rich foods could help prevent dementia.
For more information about brain health, please see recent studies that cranberries could help boost memory, and how alcohol, coffee and tea intake influence cognitive decline.
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