Recent studies have shown that some classes of HIV drugs, in particular the nucleotide reverse-transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) class, could have protective qualities against the development of Alzheimer’s disease. This innovative study, headed by Dr. Jayakrishna Ambati, has doctors around the world buzzing with anticipation. Almost 7 million Americans today battle this devastating disease, and estimates suggest that this figure may well double by 2050.
The financial costs Alzheimer’s disease is unbelievable. The yearly cost of treating patients with associated dementias is about to surge. Revenue will barely keep pace, skyrocketing from $384 billion today to almost $1 trillion in just a few decades (2). The burden of Alzheimer’s disease—as we’ve discussed—only continues to expand. This is why the finding that NRTIs can go as far as lowering cancer risk by 13% annually is so groundbreaking.
The researchers dug into health records from over 270,000 patients aged 50 and up. These patients had been treated for HIV and/or hepatitis B. These patients were previously undiagnosed for Alzheimer’s disease. This was surprising, as their findings showed significant variation in risk reduction. One dataset suggested a 6% annual decline, though another showed a larger 13% drop among those using NRTIs.
“Inflammasomes are cellular proteins that aggregate and form discrete structures both in response to tau and amyloid aggregation, as well as following certain viral and bacterial infections,” noted Dr. James Giordano, who commented on the study’s findings. During his presentation, he stressed the key role that inflammasomes have in adult-onset Alzheimer’s disease development.
Alzheimer’s is the most common cause of dementia, representing 60% to 80% of all dementia cases in the U.S. It typically begins to impact people age 65 and older. Each year, an estimated 10 million new cases of Alzheimer’s disease occur worldwide. This shocking number underscores the necessity for successful prevention efforts and preventive treatments.
NRTIs function by inhibiting inflammasome activation, which has been tied to the development of Alzheimer’s. The study’s results suggest that long-term use of these drugs could offer a new avenue for preventing this debilitating condition.
“This study strengthens the hypothesis that inflammasome-mediated inflammatory processes are operative in Alzheimer’s and offers potential direction for the development of NRTI-type drugs aimed at mitigating inflammasome development as a viable treatment—or perhaps preventive intervention—for Alzheimer’s,” stated Dr. Giordano.
“We analyzed health insurance databases of tens of millions of people and made the surprising discovery that people taking a group of anti-HIV drugs called NRTIs had a ~10% reduction in the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease for every year that they took these drugs.”
For the field of Alzheimer’s disease, important clinical trials are moving forward. Pharmaceutical researchers are currently working on K9, a 2nd generation analogue of NRTIs. Their hope is to provide the same anti-inflammatory benefits with reduced risk of serious side effects. “K9 is already in clinical trials for eye diseases, and we are planning to start trials in Alzheimer’s disease as well,” Dr. Ambati confirmed.
The implications of these discoveries would be nothing short of groundbreaking. Even a 10% reduction in risk would have profound impact on the effect and burden of Alzheimer’s,” Dr. Ambati concluded.
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