Abstract

In this mini-review the available evidence for a favorable effect of antidiabetic drugs in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is discussed. Beneficial effects are mostly seen in animal studies. Clinical studies are small, have many methodological flaws and show inconsistent results Oxidative stress inflammation, insulin resistance, advanced glycation end-products and obesity all play a pivotal role. However research relies heavily on the amyloid hypothesis. It is obvious that antidiabetic drugs are not the new cure after the failure of all amyloid-beta trials in the last decades. Dementia risks seem similar for type 2 and type1 diabetes but limited research has been performed in type 1 diabetes. Hypoglycemic episodes are not the culprit indementia and diabetes. Further research of Alzheimer’s in type 1 DM is hampered by the low prevalence and the mixed nature of dementia in DM type 1.