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.