Drug to control diabetes linked to decrease in development of Alzeihmer's disease: Study

A new study has revealed that individuals, who take drugs for diabetes, have a lesser chance of developing cerebral amyloid angiopathy or CAA, which leads to accumulation of amyloid on the brain walls, a condition that can result in stroke, dementia or Alzheimer's disease. 

The study said patients with type 2 diabetes, who are given drugs to lower blood sugar, have less amyloid accumulation on their brain walls compared to the people with type 2 diabetes without low blood drug regimens or people without diabetes.

The drug responsible for this is the dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor. The study, published in the journal Neurology,, said that people with type 2 diabetes who take dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor have been found to have a lower cognitive decline as compared to other people. 

People with type 2 diabetes have a hard time controlling their blood sugar levels as their insulin, used by the body for blood sugar management, is a point of dysfunction. 

Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors, or gliptins, help type 2 diabetes patients to control the excessive flow of blood sugar continuously. The drug decreases the risk of escalating the diabetes condition to a more complicated type. 

The drug is prescribed when the initial drugs or treatments prove ineffective for type 2 diabetes patients and it is most effective with a healthy diet and good exercise.

Normally, diabetic people are more prone to developing Alzheimer's disease, said Yonsei University's College of Medicine expert Phil Hyu Lee, who is also the lead author of the study. He further explained this happens possibly because amyloid-beta accumulates in the brain due to high blood sugar.

The study, conducted on 282 individuals of 76 years average age, and 70 people were diabetic and were recorded under dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors takers. The other people studied were 71 individuals with type 2 diabetes without dipeptidyl peptidase-4 drugs and another 141 participants were not diagnosed with diabetes.

The study done in a span of six years, after being diagnosed with early, pre-clinical, or potential Alzheimer's disease, showed dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors in diabetic patients had decreased amyloid build-up in the brain and on the regions of the brain, which are generally spots for Alzheimer's disease indicators.