A “triple” drug recently developed for diabetes may prove a powerful treatment for Alzheimer’s disease, British scientists have reported.
The drug, currently only described as a triple receptor, has been reported to have achieved “significant reversal” of memory loss in a mouse model of the disease.
This was achieved by three mechanisms, the Lancaster University researchers have reported in Brain Research.
The drug, the latest version of drugs of its kind, aims to work on three growth factors, GLP-1, GIP and Glucagon and was first unveiled two years ago.
The research found that the drug slowed the rate of nerve cell loss, reduced chronic inflammation and oxidative stress and reduced the quantity of amyloid plaques. It also enhanced levels of a brain growth factor protecting nerve cell functioning, according to the study.
Researcher Professor Christian Holscher said: "Here we show that a novel triple receptor drug shows promise as a potential treatment for Alzheimer’s but further dose-response tests and direct comparisons with other drugs have to be conducted in order to evaluate if this new drugs is superior to previous ones."
He added: "These very promising outcomes demonstrate the efficacy of these novel multiple receptor drugs that originally were developed to treat type 2 diabetes but have shown consistent neuro- protective effects in several studies."
The report was welcomed by the Alzheimer’s Society.
Director of research Dr Doug Brown said: "With no new treatments in nearly 15 years, we need to find new ways of tackling Alzheimer’s. It’s imperative that we explore whether drugs developed to treat other conditions can benefit people with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia.
“This approach to research could make it much quicker to get promising new drugs to the people who need them."
Neuroprotective effects of a triple GLP-1/GIP/glucagon receptor agonist in the APP/PS1 transgenic mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease Brain Research 1 January 2017 [abstract]
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