Ginebra.-By 2030, some 78 million people worldwide will be living with dementia, according to estimates by the World Health Organization (WHO).
One of the main risk factors for neurodegenerative diseases is aging, which is why the prevalence of these conditions is increasing in increasingly older populations, which poses new challenges to science in its quest to prevent cognitive decline.
Now, a new study has shown that patients taking certain medications for type 2 diabetes are less likely to develop dementia, specifically Alzheimer’s and vascular dementia, according to research published in BMJ, the journal of the British Medical Association. The drugs studied were sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT-2) inhibitors.
“Despite the increasing incidence of dementia, drug development to treat it has been limited over the past two decades, with extremely limited therapeutic options to modify the course of the disease,” said the team of researchers from Seoul National University who conducted the study.
The scientists stressed the importance of investigating and targeting modifiable risk factors in preventing dementia. Among these factors, type 2 diabetes is one of the most significant.
The connection between diabetes and dementia is explained by multiple mechanisms, including insulin resistance, hypoglycemic episodes and vascular compromise, processes that together contribute to greater neurocognitive decline, the researchers said.
According to an analysis by researchers at Seoul National University, drugs known as sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT-2) inhibitors, in addition to lowering blood sugar levels, are associated with a reduction of up to 35% in the risk of dementia compared to other anti-diabetic treatments.
What are SGLT2 inhibitors? They are a group of medications that lower blood sugar levels by promoting the kidneys to remove sugar from the body through urine.
The study was based on a sample of more than 200,000 people and compared those who started taking SGLT-2 inhibitors with patients taking dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors between 2013 and 2021. The data came from the Korean National Health Insurance Service database, and researchers looked at new dementia diagnoses in 1,172 patients over a 670-day follow-up period.
The finding indicated a 39% reduction in the specific risk of Alzheimer’s and a 52% decrease in cases of vascular dementia, among those who were being treated with SGLT2 inhibitor drugs.
The rates of dementia per 100 person-years were 0.22 for those using SGLT-2 inhibitors and 0.35 for those using DPP-4 inhibitors, corresponding to a 35% lower risk of dementia associated with the use of SGLT-2 inhibitors compared with DPP-4 inhibitors.
The researchers also found a 39% reduction in the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and a 52% reduction in the risk of vascular dementia associated with SGLT-2 inhibitors compared with DPP-4 inhibitors.
Furthermore, the effect of SGLT-2 inhibitors appeared to be more pronounced the longer the treatment duration. A 48% reduction in the risk of dementia was seen with more than two years of treatment, compared with a 43% reduction with two years or less.
Because the study was observational, the researchers note that the effect size may have been overestimated and say that randomized controlled trials are needed to confirm these findings.
Other studies have also suggested that SGLT-2 inhibitors may reduce the risk of developing dementia. However, the scientific and medical community is looking for more evidence through larger and more rigorous trials.
Recent research from Yale University, published by Infobae, also suggested that certain diabetes medications, specifically SGLT2 inhibitors, could decrease the risk of developing dementia. These drugs, primarily used to control blood glucose levels, have shown additional benefits on brain health, according to the research published in the “Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.”
The study analyzed more than 91,000 older adults with type 2 diabetes and no previous dementia, and noted that those treated with SGLT2 inhibitors showed a lower incidence of dementia compared to those using other diabetes medications. This protective effect could be related to the reduction in inflammation and improvement in vascular function offered by these drugs.
In addition, Yale researchers noted that while the results are promising, further studies are needed to confirm these findings and better understand the mechanisms behind this neuroprotective benefit. They also stressed the importance of following appropriate medical treatment for diabetes, given the strong connection between this disease and the risk of dementia.Infobae.
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2024-09-05 05:58:46
