Class of diabetes drugs cuts dementia risk in older adults

A class of medication for Type 2 diabetes may help older people with the condition reduce their risk of dementia. The findings are contained in a new study by Walter Swardfager , an assistant professor of pharmacology and toxicology at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine and a scientist in the Sandra Black Centre for Brain Resilience and Recovery at Sunnybrook Research Institute, and graduate student Che-Yuan (Joey) Wu. Their research shows sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors are associated with a 20 per cent lower dementia risk when compared to another kind of medication known as dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors (DPP4). Often, the first medication prescribed to people with Type 2 diabetes is metformin. When metformin alone doesn't have the desired effect, additional therapies such as SGLT2 and DPP4 inhibitors, may be added or substituted. For many patients, physicians will choose between these two classes of drugs. SGLT2 inhibitor medications, which include dapagliflozin and empagliflozin, are commonly prescribed.