AD efficacy for Takeda's diabetes drug

Japanese drug major Takeda says that treatment of high blood sugar may have a scientific connection to memory loss that could, one day, benefit millions of people with Alzheimer's disease. According to the firm, new data presented at the 10th International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders in Madrid, Spain, show that its drug pioglitazone, approved by the US Food and Drug Administration to treat type 2 diabetes, may hold promise in treating AD as well, without serious side effects.

"We believe that the drug may reduce the body's inflammatory reaction to one of the toxic components that builds up in Alzheimer's, called amyloid plaque," said David Geldmacher, an associate professor of neurology at the University of Virginia, USA, where the research was carried out.

Pioglitazone was tested in a placebo-controlled trial involving 25 people with mild-to-moderate forms of the neurodegenerative condition but, although the treatment appeared to reduce disease progression, the study was too small for investigators to be sure of the effects on memory and everyday abilities. However, in the next few years, Dr Geldmacher and his colleagues hope to study the effectiveness of the agent in a group of 200 to 300 Alzheimer's patients nationwide, Takeda noted.