Diabetes drugs could potentially reverse Alzheimer's damage, say UK researchers

A new study has suggested that drugs currently being used to treat diabetes also have the potential to be effective in Alzheimer’s disease.

Victoza (liraglutide), manufactured by Danish insulin giant Novo Nordisk’s (NOV: N), and Lyxumia (lixisenatide) from French pharma major Sanofi (Euronext: SAN), could restore memories and reverse the effects of Alzheimer’s disease. A study on mice carried out at the universities of Lancaster and Ulster in the UK has shown that daily injections of the drugs for 10 weeks brought down amyloid plaque levels in their brain and improved their memories and ability to recognize objects.

Christian Holscher of Lancaster University who led the study, said: "These are very exciting results. There are no drugs on the market for Alzheimer's disease that actually treat the disease, all we currently have are two types of drugs that mask the symptoms for a while. Lixisenatide and liraglutide offer a real improvement by treating the basis of the disease and, therefore, preventing degeneration."