Science

Common diabetes drug could cut dementia risk by 50%

The study followed participants for 20 years and showed a noticeable reduction in dementia among people who took metformin. ©Image Credit: iQ Doctor

A common type 2 diabetes drug has unexpectedly shown it could also fight a different disease altogether. metformin has been linked to potentially reducing the risk of dementia in a randomized study.

It could be a substantial risk reduction

Not only could metformin potentially reduce your risk of developing dementia, but in the randomized study that followed participants for 20 years, it showed it can cut the risk in half.

It is "the best available evidence, short of a long-term randomized clinical trial, that metformin may decrease the risk of dementia," said José Luchsinger at Columbia University in New York.

What isn't clear is the potential mechanism behind these results, and how conclusive this study truly is. In other words, more research needs to be done.

The results were surprising

After following participants in the metformin study for type 2 diabetes, researchers found that only 1.9% of those using metformin developed dementia.

Participants who were in the "lifestyle intervention" category, with no metformin given, had a 4.2% dementia rate.

In the placebo category, 3.5% of participants developed dementia.

Not only did the metformin group have a much lower risk of dementia, they also showed better memory performance after 20 years.

Results aren't conclusive

What's important to point out is that researchers aren't calling the results conclusive. Instead, they point to a link that might exist and could warrant more research.

As Luchsinger says, the participants weren't screened for cognitive impairment or early signs of dementia at the start of the study. There's no way of knowing if some had already started developing it.

"One trial can answer some questions, but then if you put together evidence from different studies, then we really start to see a pattern more clearly," said Miia Kivipelto at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden.

Unlocking dementia could be closer than we think

It's studies like these that show unlocking the mystery of dementia, how to limit risk, and even how to treat it may be closer than we think.

Source: New Scientist

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