Certain Rheumatoid Arthritis Meds May Help Lower Alzheimer’s Risk

By Alan Mozes
HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, April 12, 2022 (HealthDay News) — In their seek for a drug to stop Alzheimer’s illness, scientists are looking at sure rheumatoid arthritis medicine.

Preliminary findings counsel {that a} sort of rheumatoid arthritis drug often known as TNF inhibitors might decrease dementia danger in rheumatoid arthritis sufferers who additionally undergo from coronary heart illness.

But nobody is suggesting these medicine be prescribed broadly to stave off Alzheimer’s illness. The research outcomes “needs to be merely thought of hypothesis-generating,” confused research lead creator Rishi Desai. He’s an assistant professor of drugs at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston.

Instead, Desai stated his crew recommends “further research in numerous populations to analyze this commentary additional.”

The research checked out dementia danger amongst greater than 22,500 older Americans who underwent therapy for rheumatoid arthritis in some unspecified time in the future between 2007 and 2017.

Study individuals had been taking considered one of three courses of rheumatoid arthritis treatment: JAK inhibitors (tofacitinib), IL-6 inhibitors (tocilizumab), or TNF inhibitors. All are designed to dam the form of irritation that provides rise to debilitating rheumatoid arthritis signs.

In the tip, solely TNF medicine had been discovered to be related to a decrease danger of creating dementia, and solely amongst these rheumatoid arthritis sufferers who additionally had coronary heart illness. The medicine on this class embody Remicade (infliximab), Enbrel (etanercept), Humira (adalimumab) and Cimzia (certolizumab pegol).

The report was printed on-line April 8 in JAMA Network Open.

“We’ve seen some hyperlinks between rheumatoid arthritis biology and Alzheimer’s biology, however these are advanced illnesses and we do not absolutely perceive the connections,” stated Heather Synder, vp of medical and scientific relations with the Alzheimer’s Association. The affiliation was not concerned within the present investigation.

“While not essentially shocking, these new findings are attention-grabbing and level to locations for future researchers to search for modifications in dementia danger,” she added.

TNF stands for tumor necrosis issue, a protein that may set off irritation and provides rise to immune system issues, equivalent to rheumatoid arthritis.

Its potential profit within the combat to scale back dementia danger was explored as a part of an initiative often known as the Drug Repurposing for Effective Alzheimer’s Medicines (DREAM) undertaking.

Patients included within the present evaluation had been aged 65 and up. Just below 20% had been being handled for rheumatoid arthritis with a JAK inhibitor, whereas somewhat greater than one-quarter had been receiving an IL-6 inhibitor treatment. The the rest — somewhat over half — acquired a TNF inhibitor drug.

The researchers first got down to see how every of the three drug courses would possibly broadly influence dementia danger, as in contrast with a fourth rheumatoid arthritis therapy possibility often known as a T-cell activation inhibitor (abatacept). The crew famous its personal prior analysis discovered that this fourth strategy supplied no anti-dementia safety.

And this time round, the crew additionally initially discovered no obvious connection between any of the three drug courses and a decrease danger for Alzheimer’s/dementia.

But a subsequent evaluation urged a decrease danger for dementia particularly amongst rheumatoid arthritis sufferers taking TNF medicine who additionally had coronary heart illness. (About 13% of sufferers on TNF had a historical past of atrial fibrillation, virtually 15% had a historical past of coronary heart failure and roughly 9% had a historical past of stroke.)

As to what would possibly clarify the hyperlink, Desai stated coronary heart illness itself will increase the danger for creating dementia. But he stated the exact mechanism by which TNF would possibly decrease dementia danger in some sufferers stays unclear.

Snyder agreed.

“There isn’t sufficient proof to counsel rheumatoid arthritis drugs are an efficient danger discount therapy for anyone inhabitants,” she stated. “However, we encourage analysis on this house to proceed and people to contemplate collaborating in Alzheimer’s medical trials.”

More info

There’s extra on Alzheimer’s illness danger on the Alzheimer’s Association.

SOURCES: Rishi J. Desai, MS, PhD, assistant professor, medication, and affiliate epidemiologist, division of pharmaco-epidemiology and pharmaco-economics, division of drugs, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston; Heather Snyder, PhD, vp, medical and scientific relations, Alzheimer’s Association; JAMA Network Open, April 8, 2022, on-line