Diabetes Drug Could Protect Against Parkinson Disease

Glitazone use was associated with a decreased risk of Parkinson disease (PD) among individuals with diabetes, according to a recent study.

In their study, the researchers compared the incidence of PD between 8396 individuals with diabetes who used glitazones (with or without metformin) and 94,349 individuals with diabetes who only used metformin. Data was collected using the Norwegian Prescription Database. The researchers used Cox regression survival analysis to compare incidence of PD over a 10-year period, which treated glitazone exposure as a time-dependent covariate.
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Overall, glitazone use was associated with a significantly lower incidence of PD compared with the use of metformin only (hazard ratio 0.72). Individuals who used glitazones had a 28% lower risk of developing PD compared with those who only used metformin.

“The use of glitazones is associated with a decreased risk of incident PD in populations with diabetes,” the researchers concluded. “Further studies are warranted to confirm and understand the role of glitazones in neurodegeneration.”

—Melissa Weiss

Reference:

Brakedal B, Flønes I, Reiter SF, et al. Glitazone use associated with reduced risk of Parkinson's disease [published online September 1, 2017]. Mov Disord. doi:10.1002/mds.27128.