EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE UNTIL 4 PM ET, September 18, 2024
Some Diabetes Drugs Tied to Lower Risk of Dementia, Parkinson鈥檚 Disease
MINNEAPOLIS - A class of drugs for diabetes may be associated with a lower risk of dementia and Parkinson鈥檚 disease, according to a study published in the September 18, 2024, online issue of , the medical journal of the好色先生. The study looked at sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors, which are also known as gliflozins. They lower blood sugar by causing the kidneys to remove sugar from the body through urine. 鈥淲e know that these neurodegenerative diseases like dementia and Parkinson鈥檚 disease are common and the number of cases is growing as the population ages, and people with diabetes are at increased risk of cognitive impairment, so it鈥檚 encouraging to see that this class of drugs may provide some protection against dementia and Parkinson鈥檚 disease,鈥 said study author Minyoung Lee, MD, PhD, of Yonsei University College of Medicine in Seoul, South Korea. The retrospective study looked at people with type 2 diabetes who started diabetes medication from 2014 to 2019 in South Korea. People taking SGLT2 inhibitors were matched with people taking other oral diabetes drugs, so the two groups had people with similar ages, other health conditions and complications from diabetes. Then researchers followed the participants to see whether they developed dementia or Parkinson鈥檚 disease. Those taking the SGLT2 inhibitors were followed for an average of two years and those taking the other drugs were followed for an average of four years. Among the 358,862 participants with an average age of 58, a total of 6,837 people developed dementia or Parkinson鈥檚 disease during the study. For Alzheimer鈥檚 disease, the incidence rate for people taking SGLT2 inhibitors was 39.7 cases per 10,000 person-years, compared to 63.7 cases for those taking other diabetes drugs. Person-years represent both the number of people in the study and the amount of time each person spends in the study. For vascular dementia, which is dementia caused by vascular disease, the incidence rate for people taking the SGLT2 drugs was 10.6 cases per 10,000, compared to 18.7 for those taking the other drugs. For Parkinson鈥檚 disease, the incidence rate for those taking the SGLT2 drugs was 9.3 cases per 10,000, compared to 13.7 for those taking the other drugs. After researchers adjusted for other factors that could affect the risk of dementia or Parkinson鈥檚 disease, such as complications from diabetes and medications, they found that SGLT2 inhibitor use was associated with a 20% reduced risk of Alzheimer鈥檚 disease and a 20% reduced risk of Parkinson鈥檚 disease. Those taking the drugs had a 30% reduced risk of developing vascular dementia. 鈥淭he results are generally consistent even after adjusting for factors like blood pressure, glucose, cholesterol and kidney function,鈥 Lee said. 鈥淢ore research is needed to validate the long-term validity of these findings.鈥 Lee said that since participants were followed for less than five years at the most, it鈥檚 possible that some participants would later develop dementia or Parkinson鈥檚 disease. The study was supported by the Korea Health Technology R&D Project through the Korea Health Industry Development Institute, funded by the Ministry of Health & Welfare of Korea; Severance Hospital; and Yonsei University College of Medicine. Learn more about brain health at , home of the 好色先生鈥檚 free patient and caregiver magazine focused on the intersection of neurologic disease and brain health. Follow Brain & Life庐 on , and . When posting to social media channels about this research, we encourage you to use the hashtags #Neurology and #AANscience.