Antidiabetics against dementia

Treatment with the thiazolidinedione pioglitazone may offer the greatest protection against dementia for older adults with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) who have a history of stroke or ischemic heart disease, new research suggests (Neurology. Published February 15, 2023).

In a large cohort study from Korea, patients who took pioglitazone were 16% less likely to develop dementia over an average of 10 years than peers who did not take the drug.

However, the dementia risk reduction was 54% among those with ischemic heart disease and 43% among those with a history of stroke.

This drug is more effective in diabetic patients who have blood circulation problems in the heart or brain than in those without such problems.

This finding suggests that pioglitazone could be used as a personalized treatment approach for dementia prevention in this subgroup of patients with diabetes

Using the national Korean health database, the researchers identified 91,218 adults aged 50 and older with new-onset T2DM who did not have dementia. A total of 3467 were treated with pioglitazone.

These results provide valuable information on who could potentially benefit from pioglitazone use for prevention of dementia.