Taking medications for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis B have been linked to a 13 percent lower risk of Alzheimer's disease for each year they are taken. This effect is thought to be because the drugs reduce inflammation, an increase in which is thought to be one of the causes of the disease. Since drugs for HIV and hepatitis are already approved for use, they could be put into practice more quickly to treat Alzheimer's disease. Research published in the journal Alzheimer's & Dementia.
Scientists have drawn attention to the fact that the development of Alzheimer's disease is associated with the activity of inflammatory cells in cells that respond to the accumulation of beta-amyloid and tau protein and cause an inflammatory reaction with cell death. At the same time, antiretroviral drugs, in particular drugs for HIV and hepatitis B, are able to reduce the activity of inflammatory cells. Therefore, scientists studied the incidence of Alzheimer's disease in those who took such drugs and did not do so, according to health insurance records in the United States for the past 14-24 years.
It turned out that taking drugs for HIV and hepatitis B was associated with a reduced risk of Alzheimer's disease in people of both sexes aged 50 and over. At the same time, in a group of 11 million veterans, which consisted mostly of older men, the risk reduction was not as significant as in the general sample, at six percent per year. The reduction in risk of Alzheimer's disease was associated with taking drugs that prevent viruses from replicating their genome in the cell, but not with drugs that prevent the virus from entering the cell or from forming its particles inside the cell.
Because the study was observational, not experimental, it is not yet clear why some antiretroviral drugs are associated with a lower risk of Alzheimer's disease and others are not. However, given the findings, the researchers hope to conduct clinical trials of HIV and hepatitis B drugs as a treatment for Alzheimer's disease. They are also working to combat their side effects or develop analogues without them. While a 6-13 percent risk reduction may not seem like much, 10 million people are diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease each year, and the use of antiretroviral drugs could prevent about a million of these cases.
Thank you for being with us! Monobank for the support of the ElitExpert editorial office.
