Diabetes Drug May Protect the Brain

The diabetes drug metformin may do more than help control blood sugar levels: New research suggests it may also reduce the risk of dementia.

Compared to people taking another class of diabetes medications called sulfonylureas, those taking metformin had a 20 percent reduced risk of developing dementia over the five-year study period.

"Metformin could have a possible neuroprotective effect in the brain," said study author Dr. Rachel Whitmer, an epidemiologist in the division of research at Kaiser Permanente in Oakland, Calif.