One of the most common treatments for type 2 diabetes, known as metformin, could also be beneficial for reducing cognitive decline among older adults, new research in the journal Diabetes Care revealed.
The study was conducted by researchers associated with the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, the Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing, UNSW Sydney, and involved more than 1,000 Australian participants.
“The objective of this study was to determine the association of metformin use with incident dementia and cognitive decline over 6 years in diabetes compared with those not receiving metformin and those without diabetes,” the co-authors stated in their journal article.
Overall, the findings demonstrated the drug treatment’s efficiency at reducing the risk of dementia by slowing cognitive decline, according to the co-authors.
“Older people with diabetes receiving metformin have slower cognitive decline and lower dementia risk,” they concluded in their findings.
“Large randomized studies in people with and without diabetes will determine whether these associations can be attributed to metformin.”
