Can a drug used for
Diabetes help fix Alzheimer’s?
I’m a pharmacy technician who is
fascinated by the history and exploration of drugs. It’s amazing to me what
mankind has been able to manipulate and discover in the field of medicine in
the last few decades, and that being said, it’s no wonder that this article
from Scientific American seemed to call to me. The article discusses a new
study published from Tulane University in Louisiana, detailing their
observations of metformin, a drug prescribed primarily for diabetes, and its
apparent link to Alzheimer’s prevention. Wait a minute. What? Were they really
saying that a blood sugar medicine could help prevent and possibly cure a
debilitating cognitive disorder? I just had to know more.
Before we get into the details
here, let’s talk about the drug in question: metformin. What is this drug
really? Well, it’s currently the cheapest and most effective pill option for type
2 diabetics, and it’s used to help your body regulate its blood glucose levels
and metabolism. The drug is tolerated extremely well, with rarely occurring
minor side effects. Scientists studying this drug recently noticed that people
who take metformin have a smaller population percentage that acquires an age
related disease as opposed to people who don’t take metformin. Based on some
small scale observations, they decided to undertake their own research project
to see if this was really the case.
Their sample size consisted of
6,000 people who had diabetes. They surveyed them and found that people on
metformin had a significantly lower chance of developing not only Alzheimer’s,
but Parkinson’s and dementia as well. It’s proposed that metformin helps to
regulate insulin levels in the brain.
From what it looks like, we might
be closer than ever to finding a safe prevention mechanism for several
incurable diseases.
For further reading, check out this article on the pros and cons of metformin:
This is very interesting, but I'm skeptical about it. I definitely would like to see what their outcomes are when they do further research about this drug preventing all of those diseases.
ReplyDeleteSN
The article talked about 2 different studies, and how the conclusions from each were different. So I am with you on this one, there is a lot more that needs to be done here before we can say that this will be useful.
DeleteMatt N.
I agree, I would like to see some more concrete studies with similar or consistent results supporting this before I can allow myself to take it seriously and become excited. Hopefully there is more information to come!
DeleteHW
I was reading this article and it just really caught my attention in a lot of ways. one thing that I don't really understand is just how metformin helps to regulate insulin levels in the brain if the drug was made for regulating blood glucose levels and metabolism. its a very interesting concept, but I would just wonder how the drug translates to regulating insulin levels in the brain.
ReplyDeleteJ-Kearns
Is metaformin made to increase insulin levels in the brain because people of with diabetes may be low in insulin? I am asking this question because my father has struggled with type 2 diabetes as well as low insulin.
ReplyDeleteA.M
I did not like this article because it seems fishy that an antibiotic for diabetes could solve the problems for other serious diseases. It seems to good to be true and I am interested to know the details in the biological makeup of this drug. Metaformin seems like a miracle drug. For that reason, I feel concerned I have never heard of it before until reading this article.
ReplyDeleteA.M
If an increase in insulin levels in the brain is all it takes to give people a lower chance of Alzheimer's, are people everywhere with Alzheimer's taking metaformin, insulin supplements, etc.? I am asking this because I thought there was no way to prevent Alzheimer's other than proper nutrition and exercise.
ReplyDeleteA.M
This is fairly new research, only being completed within the last five years or so. They aren't studying it as an idea for a cure to Alzheimer's. Up to this point, it's still considered irreversible. In this study, they simply looked at people who were already on Metformin, the vast majority of them taking it for Diabetes. This wouldn't be effective on people who already have degenerative brain diseases. That would be like using toothpaste after your teeth fall out. Metformin in theory helps to simply prevent the damage.
DeleteSimilarly to what was said before because of how new the research is, its is difficult for people to seriously consider new paths of research that aren't 100% conclusive. And indeed it isn't a solid cure but more of a deterrent to the degenerative process. Indeed though if this is a promising line of a potential cure it will stand the test of time and eventually people will come back to investigate it more.
Delete-Jacob c
This article made me think of a question about the history of mental disorders. 200 years ago, was Alzheimer's as prevalent as it is today?
ReplyDeleteI know this is a difficult question to answer, because I don't believe we were even aware of the disease at the time. However, when you said that insulin levels in the brain might be related to the development of this disease, my first thought was that if people didn't eat as much sugar it might help control those levels as well.
So, with the saturation of sweets and high-sugar snacks that has happened in the past century, has their been a comparable increase in the number of Alzheimer cases?
-B.G.
I can't seem to wrap my head around how a drug, designed to regulate blood glucose levels, can also help prevent dementia? I mean, there could be a correlation with those that take Metformin, and those that have Alzheimers, but are they really connected? C.W.
ReplyDeleteLike others, I don't fully understand how this is possible, and will need to research it more. However, the idea of this drug being able to prevent Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and dementia is truly amazing! These are some extremely difficult diseases to live with, and knowing that there may be something to help prevent and cure these diseases is really cool, and should give us a lot of hope for the future!
ReplyDelete-Mindy C.
I think that this is interesting, but it seems like it may be a coincidence, or maybe something else in their bodies, and not the medication. Very cool to think about and research further though. B.C.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely an interesting article. My personal opinion was that the closest cure to Alzheimer's and especially parkinson's disease was stem cell treatment. But this would probably be a cheaper way of being treated! I too am wondering if the survey was just a coincidence though. Definitely interested on further information. -Chad B
ReplyDeleteI think that the maxim 'you are what you eat' definitely applies here. If it can make it through the BBB, then it affects our brains and is therefore significant in the development of diseases. Blood sugar levels most certainly have a role to play in this!
ReplyDelete-BG
This is an incredible discovery! I need to do a more research of metformin to see how it is used and what the side effects are before thinking this is completely safe. With a disease like alzheimer's having a cure, it would safe thousands of dollars down the road. I feel like when people get this disease, they need to be in assisted living. Not having to put so many people in assisted living, this would help save a lot of money for the affected or the families paying for it.
ReplyDeleteNP
I found this article to be very interesting and brings up a lot of questions. If people took this drug without having diabetes, what issues could this cause in the long run for this taking the medication? I would be very cautious taking a drug that isn't absolutely essential.
ReplyDeleteNP
When taking medication for something other than its intended purpose, it could lead to long term side effects we don't see today. Is there a way of seeing the side effects of taking metformin when you don't necessary need it? Also, is it possible to see if you are more prone to this disease before its onset? This could help people decide down the road when the could be affected by the disease.
ReplyDeleteNP
I wonder if there is a connection between diabetics and cognitive disorders in general? It would be interesting if there is a link between pancreatic function and cognitive disorder later on in life, or if this drug Metformin has some ingredient in it unique to helping cognitive disorders. How long have they been following this connection? This article has personal interest to me, because I have a family history of diabetes. In fact, my mom often tells me that her biggest fear in life would be to develop parkinsons or alzheimers. So if this connection is true, maybe she would have one less thing to worry about in life.
ReplyDeleteR.T.
sick article Jordan. I am also a pharmacy technician, and love learning about all the studies being done on the medications that I, on a daily, fill at the pharmacy I work at. This will most definitely be a topic of discussion at my job!
ReplyDelete-A.G
This is a great article. Does it ever worry anyone how we discover the drugs that are used to treat illnesses? I think it is an indicator of how little we know about the drug's pathways or their interactions in the body. It is also a little scary to think how those interactions are likely to vary between individuals. That being said, paying close attention to something that seems unrelated to the problem being targeted looks like it paid of for these researchers. This would be great if this could help us learn more about some of the causes of Alzheimers and potential prevention. -- D.S.
ReplyDeleteThis is incredible but I wonder how they actually got to the Idea that this medication would help the brain with al these diseases and prevent them all form happening it would be great if it could actually be done.
ReplyDeleteSteph S.
Could this medication help regulate something else in the body besides blood sugar? As we don't know what exactly causes Alzheimer's this medication could have something in it that is destroying the chemical in our body that is causing it. Or as all doctors say a healthy diet and exercise gives you a healthy body.
ReplyDeleteHS
The title of this article really caught my attention. It seems that if this medication could prevent Alzheimer's that it could also help prevent other diseases as well. This would be incredible research.
ReplyDelete--A.S.
I found this article very interesting because my uncle is currently suffering from this disease and the idea of something curing it is amazing! Have they done more research on what else this drug does to the body? I wonder how many studies have been done and if the public is available to this.
ReplyDelete-B.N.K