One Type of Older Diabetes Drug Cuts Dementia Risk, Another Ups It
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Thiazolidinediones (TZDs), such as pioglitazone, appear to be protective against dementia whereas sulfonylureas appear to increase the risk, a new observational study in patients with type 2 diabetes suggests. The data, obtained from nationwide electronic medical records from the US Veterans Affairs Administration, yielded a 22% lower risk of dementia with TZD monotherapy and a 12% elevated risk with sulfonylurea monotherapy, compared with metformin monotherapy. The apparent protective effects of TZDs were greater among individuals with overweight or obesity.
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@rishi-sharma The main limitations of this study is that following the initial 2-year period the authors were interested in, the participants may have been prescribed one of the other type 2 diabetes drugs (GLP-1 agonists or SGLT2 inhibitors) that have been found to reduce dementia risk, thus potentially making the direct glitazone [TZD] effect more difficult to discern