Two of the most devastating diagnosis a person can receive are those of Diabetes and Alzheimer’s Disease. But there is new hope that a treatment for one may be effective on the other.
A new research study published in the medical journal Brain Research, suggests that a receptor agonist used in the treatment of Type 2 Diabetes may very well be useful in treating Alzheimer’s.
The triple receptor agonist activates the receptors of nerve cells and glucagon (a medicine used for treating severely low blood sugar in diabetics) in patients’ brains, protecting against nerve cell degeneration.
Using a laboratory setting, researchers employed the receptor agonist in mice that presented with the typical signs of onset Alzheimer’s: memory loss, loss of nerve signaling, chronic inflammation, loss of nerve cell production, and formation of harmful amyloid plaque in the brain.
After treating the subject mice once a day for two months, researchers found that the receptor agonist was able to reverse the memory loss with which the mice were afflicted.
The application of the drug also reduced cell-death-related signaling and increased a signal-protecting growth factor. It also increased levels of a protein that protects the brain from loss of nerve signaling.
Additionally, the researchers found that the mice treated with the agonist were able to step up their production of nerve cells. The subject mice also experienced reduced plaque production and nerve inflammation.
While there are still years of study to conduct regarding the connection between the treatments for diabetes and Alzheimer’s, this research is promising and welcome news for those affected by both diseases.
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