It has long been known that type 2 diabetes is a risk factor for developing Alzheimer's, because the inability to produce insulin triggers a process of brain degeneration that is linked to both diseases. And, perhaps for this reason, the results of an experiment carried out with mice by researchers from the University of Lancaster, who have revealed that a drug created to treat type 2 diabetes, can help reverse some of the symptoms of cancer, are not as unexpected. dementia.
The experiment was performed with APP / PS1 mice, a type of guinea pigs genetically engineered to show DNA mutations that have been linked to Alzheimer's in human patients. All of them were given a medication against diabetes with triple agonist activity. In biochemistry, an agonist is that substance that is capable of binding to a cellular receptor and causing a determined action in the cell, generally similar to that produced by a physiological substance.
One of the characteristics of Alzheimer's is a decrease in the brain of patients called growth factors. It is called a group of proteins whose function is to promote the survival of neurons. For this reason, this medication for diabetes was chosen for the experiment, because among its ingredients it contains three of the main growth factors: GLP-1, GIP and Glucagon.
And what was the result? Well, the treated mice showed a decrease in the accumulation of beta-amyloid plaques in the brain (one of the factors linked to this disease), and a lower rate of neuronal destruction. The final result was that the animals showed a marked improvement in their learning and memory capacity.
Of course, it is still too early to extrapolate these results to humans, but the research opens a very promising path for the future development of new drugs against Alzheimer's symptoms.
Reference: Elsevier.com
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