Alzheimer’s: ADHD drug can treat symptoms, study says

An analysis of recent research data concluded that drugs used for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) can also successfully treat the core symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease.

The drugs in question are noradrenergics, which act on norepinephrine, a neurotransmitter released by a network of specialized neurons that plays a key role in executing many cognitive processes such as attention, learning, memory, alertness, and suppression of inappropriate behavior.

The researchers realized that the noradrenergic system would be a good target to treat the loss of these abilities that occurs early in Alzheimer’s disease. Therefore, they sought clinical trials published between 1980 and 2021 on noradrenergic drugs such as atomoxetine, methylphenidate, and guanfacine.

After examining different studies with data from 1811 patients, the analysis showed that noradrenergic drugs had a small but significant positive effect on general cognition. For example, noradrenergic drugs had a great positive effect in the treatment of apathy.

“Established noradrenergic drugs are more likely to offer effective treatment in Alzheimer’s disease for general cognition and apathy,” the researchers said. They added: “There is a strong case for more targeted clinical trials of noradrenergic treatments in Alzheimer’s disease.”

However, while the discovery is promising, it lacks further targeted studies, and the researchers cautioned that several factors need to be considered first, such as the appropriate targeting of specific patient groups – in this case Alzheimer’s patients.

More studies will be needed to better understand the dose effects of individual drugs and their interactions with other disease treatments, “in order to minimize the cons of noradrenergic drugs and maximize the pros,” the researchers said.

Matter Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/jnnp-2022-329136