Category Archives: Research

Health, Medical, Research, Science

A drug used for treating diabetes could cut risk of developing dementia…

METFORMIN

A drug used to treat diabetes could cut the risk of developing dementia by 20 per cent, a research study has found.

Around 15,000 people aged over 55 diagnosed with the type 2 form of the disease were given the drug metformin over a period of five years.

But when scientists looked back over medical records they found the drug also reduced the chance of those with diabetes developing dementia.

Metformin, one of the most common forms of treatments for diabetes, makes the body more sensitive to insulin, which diabetes sufferers cannot naturally produce.

About 800,000 people in the UK suffer from a form of dementia, with more than half being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.

The Alzheimer’s Society in the UK said the study results were ‘positive news’ because diabetics are twice as likely to develop dementia as those who don’t have it. The Society has said that whilst this study is encouraging it is still not sure exactly how metformin works with regards to dementia. But it added:

… What is becoming increasingly apparent is the role of insulin in the brain and the way it can regulate the brains behaviour.

Clinical trials are now underway to test metformin as a therapy for both dementia and mild cognitive impairment.

The study by scientists at Kaiser Permanente was presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International conference in Boston earlier this week.

A statement issued by the Alzheimer’s Society said that due to the ‘huge cost’ of developing treatments ‘from scratch’ it was important to explore whether existing drugs could also treat dementia.

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Health, Medical, Research, Science

Indigestion drugs linked to risk of heart attacks and strokes…

PROTON PUMP INHIBITORS (PPIs)

Common indigestion drugs used by millions of Britons could increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes, according to research.

Scientists said the drugs, called proton pump inhibitors, or PPIs, can trigger a dangerous rise in chemicals in the body linked with heart disease.

Patients with existing heart problems, such as angina, are at most risk, but healthy adults with no history of such complaints could also be affected, the researchers said.

The number of prescriptions for PPIs such as lansoprazole and omeprazole – sold over the counter as Zanprol – has doubled in recent years to more than eight million a year, costing the NHS around £400 million a year. The exact number of patients on the drugs is not known because some buy them over the counter (OTC) at high street chemists.

PPIs work by blocking the action of cells called proton pumps, which produce stomach acid. Although very effective, they should only be used for a maximum of two months and preferably for between two and four weeks.

But many patients quickly find they cannot live without them and ask for repeat prescriptions from their GP or buy them at the chemist. Previous studies identified a potential link between the drugs and heart problems, although scientists conceded there was no obvious explanation for the connection.

Now experts at the Methodist Hospital Research Institute in Houston, Texas, believe they have uncovered the reason why.

After studying samples of human heart tissue, as well as carrying out experiments on mice, they found that PPIs triggered an increase in a chemical called asymmetric dimethylarginine, or ADMA, produced as the body’s cells make proteins.

It can hinder blood flow by blocking the release of nitric oxide, a gas which helps arteries to stay flexible and healthy. The latest findings, published in the journal Circulation, show PPI medicines increase ADMA levels by about 25 per cent and reduce the ability of blood vessel walls to relax by more than 30 per cent.

In a report on their findings, the researchers said that several studies have raised concern that the use of PPIs in patients with acute coronary syndrome (heart disease) may increase their risk of major adverse events.

Dr John Cooke, who heads the research group, says that whilst a plausible biological explanation has now been found to explain this, also added that the ‘surprising effect still needs further investigation’.

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Health, Medical, Research, Science

Liver grown in the laboratory raises real hope…

AN ALTERNATIVE TO TRANSPLANTS

Scientists have grown a tiny liver in experiments which has been hailed as ‘a huge step forward’ for desperately ill patients waiting for a transplant.

The technique that creates man-made tissue could be used to repair diseased and damaged organs – and one day end the agonising and sometimes hopeless wait for a donor.

These advances could also be used to test new medicines, ending the need for risky tests on humans, and to grow tissue for new kidneys, lungs and pancreases.

British scientists have welcomed the research in Japan as holding out ‘promise’ for an alternative to transplants.

More than 7,000 Britons are on the waiting list, including 154 children. Most need kidneys but nearly 500 need a liver and around 250 are waiting for healthy lungs.

Researchers used the three types of cell which generate the liver in a human embryo to grow a tiny piece of tissue in a dish.

It was grafted on to a mouse’s brain, where it linked up to the blood supply and could be monitored as it grew for at least two months. The tissue had many features of a human liver, including the ability to break down drugs.

It also extended the life of rodents with fatal liver disease. The findings were reported in the journal Nature.

Researcher Takanori Takebe said growing patches of liver holds ‘enormous therapeutic potential’.

Dr Dusko Ilic, a stem cell scientist from King’s College London, said: ‘The strategy is very promising and a huge step forward.’

Dr Mathew Smalley, of Cardiff University, said the technique may not be suitable for all transplant patients but still had ‘real promise’.

NHS Blood and Transplant, which is responsible for running the organ donor register, said the research was ‘very exciting’.

But it could take many years to offer ‘widespread, readily-available treatment’, the NHS body said. In the meantime, more organ donors are still needed to cut the number of patients who die waiting for a transplant.

It is hoped the first tests on people could start in a decade.

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