According to British researchers, there is “good evidence” that drugs used to treat what is commonly called attention deficit disorder with or without hyperactivity could be effective against certain symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease.
ADHD (for Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder) is characterized by attention deficit, impulsiveness, and sometimes hyperactivity leading to social or even academic difficulties. To treat this pathology, the use of so-called “noradrenargic” drugs – which include antidepressants and drugs for the management of high blood pressure – are sometimes used. What if these products also made it possible to fight against certain signs of Alzheimer’s disease? This is the question posed by researchers at theimperial college london.
Their starting postulate: the fact that these drugs target norepinephrine, a neurotransmitter essential to many cognitive processes such as attention, learning, memory… However, at the onset of Alzheimer’s disease, “noradrenergic disturbance occurs contributing to the typical cognitive symptoms of the disease “, launch the researchers.
Effective against apathy
Of which actthe scientists therefore searched for clinical trials published between 1980 and 2021 in which noradrenergic drugs, such as atomoxetine or methylphenidate (Ritaline®, Concerta®…) had been used to potentially improve symptoms in people with diseases neurodegenerative.
And they found it. Among them, 10 works involving 1300 patients were interested in their impact on global cognition: orientation, attention, memory, fluidity… “It showed a small but significant positive effect”, say the authors. Eight other studies, involving 425 people, focused on behavior and neuropsychiatric symptoms like agitation and apathy. The, “the positive effect has been significant”.
“The reassignment of noradrenergic drugs is likely to offer an effective treatment in Alzheimer’s disease for general cognition and apathy”, explain the researchers. Which explain that there are still many studies to be conducted, particularly with regard to “the doses to be administered, the risks of interaction with other drugs…”.