Researchers are investigating whether drugs currently used for diabetes and eye diseases could help to prevent or treat dementia. Developing new drugs for diseases like Alzheimer’s can be very expensive, and take many years. However, repurposing drugs that have already been approved for other health conditions could speed up the process and open up new ways to treat dementia-causing diseases, experts suggest.
Researchers at the University of Manchester are looking at whether methazolamide, a treatment used for glaucoma, can be used to treat Alzheimer’s by restoring the health of nerve cells. They are also investigating if thiazolidinediones, a class of diabetes drugs, can help to prevent or treat vascular dementia – a common type of dementia caused by reduced blood flow to the brain. Professor Nigel Hooper, associate vice-president for research at the University of Manchester – who is leading the research on methazolamide, explained that the drug is able to cross the blood brain barrier, and actually get into the brain.
He told the PA news agency the medication has been found to activate an enzyme in the brain (ACE2) which normally keeps neurons (nerve cells) in the brain healthy. In patients with Alzheimer’s, the activity of this enzyme is reduced and the neurons tend to degenerate and die, causing the symptoms of dementia. Prof Hooper said: “What we’re interested in – because nobody’s done it yet – is whether you can take this methazolamide within the co.