Diabetes drug could fight Alzheimer’s

It is increasingly common to find that drugs to treat one condition may also have beneficial effects on another – and a drug commonly used to treat diabetes is no exception

Liraglutide – or Victoza – a drug currently used to treat type 2 diabetes is the current drug under investigation and scientists from the University of Southampton believe it has the potential to treat Alzheimer’s patients.

Together with colleagues from the University of Ulster and Imperial College London, the team is to further test the drug and understand its effects on the brain.

In mice, the Irish team has shown that the drug enhances brain cell growth and protects memory formation. It has also been shown to reduce levels of amyloid plaques – characteristic of the neurodegenerative disease, and results suggest the drug could protect against inflammation in the brain.

“Our team is very interested in how inflammation contributes to Alzheimer’s disease,” said Professor Hugh Perry from Southampton. “Previously we’ve found that when people with Alzheimer’s also have common infections and systematic inflammation, their cognitive decline is more rapid. Our hope is that this drug could mitigate that.”

The collaboration has been awarded £99,221 from Alzheimer’s Research UK. Dr Simon Rodely, head of research said: “Earlier findings suggest a need for a further investigation to see whether this drug could be helpful in Alzheimer’s. Research is the only answer, and projects like this one give us a much better chance of being able to fight the condition.”