Some Good News In The Field Of Medicine

CBS News New York is reporting today that scientists may have accidentally stumbled upon a drug that will help treat people with Alzheimer’s disease. The scientists were working with a drug they hoped could be used to treat diabetes.

The article reports:

According to a press release from researchers at Lancaster University, a new drug being tested for diabetes patients was found to have “significantly reversed memory loss” in test subjects and is now being examined as possible treatment for neurodegenerative disorders.

The medication, known as a triple receptor drug — or “triple agonist” — reportedly works in multiple ways to protect the brain against degeneration and promote growth. Researchers say that a study of mice being given the drug found that the animals had an increased ability to learn and retain memories.

“These very promising outcomes demonstrate the efficacy of these novel multiple receptor drugs that originally were developed to treat type 2 diabetes,” Professor Christian Holscher said in the release.

The scientists added that the mice showed a decrease in chronic inflammation and amyloid plaques in the brain, which have been linked to the development of Alzheimer’s in people.

The article further explains that scientists have found a link between some of the symptoms of diabetes and Alzheimer’s–insulin desensitisation has been observed both in people suffering from Alzheimer’s and people suffering from diabetes.

I wonder if in the future we are going to find out that the amount of sugar in the average American diet is causing some of the health problems that were rare in previous generations.