Science · 2026-10-22 · Morning briefing

UK trial tests diabetes and ADHD drugs for Alzheimer's

A major clinical trial has launched in the UK to test if existing medicines for diabetes and ADHD can treat Alzheimer's disease. The AD-SMART study will recruit 1,200 people with mild to moderate Alzheimer's across more than 30 sites. The first two drugs being tested are metformin, for type 2 diabetes, and atomoxetine, for ADHD, chosen for their potential to reduce the brain inflammation that drives neurodegeneration.

The trial uses an adaptive platform design, a method successfully employed in cancer research. This allows multiple drugs to be tested simultaneously against a single placebo group. Researchers can quickly drop treatments that show no benefit and add new candidates, a process intended to significantly shorten the decade-long timelines typical for single-drug studies.

The first patient, a 67-year-old woman diagnosed in January, has begun treatment. While the trial's design is built for speed, initial results for the first two drugs are not expected until 2030.

Summary written by Cup of News with AI from the sources below. Check the originals for the full story.

Read the sources

• Diabetes and ADHD drugs to be tested on Alzheimer's patients in new study
• Andy Burnham welcomes world-first dementia drug trial after dad Roy dies from the disease
• AD-SMART: The new clinical trial speeding up the search for Alzheimer’s treatments
• A $100 Million Trial Launched Today to Test Whether GLP-1 Drugs Plus Lifestyle Changes Can Prevent Dementia
• Breakthrough T1D Funded Clinical Trial Testing Islet Cell Transplantation with Eledon’s Tegoprubart Expands to Include People with Type 1 Diabetes and Kidney Disease

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