Insulin and dementia

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Insulin and dementia

Diabetes drugs may help to preserve memory and protect against dementia, say US scientists

Insulin and related drugs used for the treatment of diabetes could help protect the brain against Alzheimer's disease, according to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Alzheimer's is the most common form of dementia and affects around 417,000 people in the UK.

Researchers from Northwestern University in the US looked at the effect of the hormone insulin and insulin drugs on brain cells that are involved with memory. The team found that insulin, which in healthy people is released by the pancreas and helps to control blood sugar levels, protected the memory cells against the damage associated with Alzheimer’s disease. The insulin drug (rosiglitazone), normally taken by type 2 diabetics to increase the effectiveness of naturally-produced insulin, also provided protection against the disease. Insulin injected by people with type 1 diabetes and some with type 2 may also have memory benefits. The hope is that treating Alzheimer’s patients with the hormone insulin or drugs to increase the effect of insulin may help improve memory.

‘Therapeutics (drugs) designed to increase insulin sensitivity in the brain could provide new avenues for treating Alzheimer's disease,’ said lead author William L Klein. ‘Sensitivity to insulin can decline with aging, which presents a novel risk factor for Alzheimer's disease. Our results demonstrate that bolstering insulin signalling can protect neurons from harm.’

Studies already show that people with diabetes are at higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s but it is only recently that scientists are beginning to understand why.

The research supports the theory that Alzheimer’s could be a type of brain diabetes. The insulin gives protection by blocking the action of toxic proteins that build up in people with Alzheimer’s disease. These proteins, known as ADDLs (amyloid beta-derived diffusible ligands) attach to memory-forming brain cells and stop them working resulting in memory loss.

‘Recognizing that Alzheimer's disease is a type of brain diabetes points the way to novel discoveries that may finally result in disease-modifying treatments for this devastating disease,’ adds Sergio T Ferreira, another member of the research team.

Rebecca Wood, Chief Executive of the Alzheimer’s Research Trust, hopes that research into insulin will open up new treatment options for people suffering from Alzheimer’s.

‘It is well known that insulin affects how the brain works, and this research adds more evidence to the possibility that Alzheimer’s could be a type of brain diabetes,’ says Wood. ‘The most exciting implications are that some diabetes drugs have the potential to be developed as Alzheimer’s treatments.

‘The Alzheimer’s Research Trust is also funding work looking at how insulin acts on the brain, and we hope this will lead to new treatments.’

The Alzheimer’s Research Trust www.Alzheimers-Research.org.uk

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