British researchers have found that giving nicotine to lab rats boosts their concentration and memory, and say that the findings could point the way towards pharmaceuticals that could treat the symptoms of Alzheimer’s and dementia. This benefit may be linked to the effect nicotine has on addicted smokers: The “boost” in concentration that smokers experience from cigarettes could help sufferers fight the mental decline associated with dementia, studies suggest [Telegraph].
Researchers are definitely not suggesting that elderly people take up smoking or start wearing nicotine patches in an attempt to ward off dementia, as the negative health effects would far outweigh any benefits. Lead researcher Professor Ian Stolerman said: “Nicotine, like many other drugs, has multiple effects, some of which are harmful, whereas others may be beneficial. It may be possible for medicinal chemists to devise compounds that provide some of the beneficial effects of nicotine while cutting out the toxic effects” [BBC News].
In the study, which will be presented today at a neuroscience conference in Geneva, researchers found that rats injected with nicotine were more likely to complete tasks correctly than a control group while researchers tried to distract them with flashing lights and sounds.
Efforts are already underway to translate these results into human terms. Drugs based upon the chemical structure of nicotine are already in phase 2 trials to see whether they can forestall the mental decline of Alzheimer’s patients [The Times]. But researchers caution that there’s no evidence that nicotine decreases the risk of getting dementia, only that it may help treat the symptoms and give patients a few extra months of lucidity.
Image: flickr/SuperFantastic
July 14th, 2008 at 12:56 pm
In the comments following the Times article one person mentioned that Nicotine mimics the effects of acetylcholine. We already have a non-addictive drug that prevents the breakdown of acetycholine in the brain–brand name, Aricept. It is an approved Alzheimer’s drug. Since the predicted effects of Nicotine are very similar to the benefits of Aricept, in any article citing the nicotine research it would be prudent to mention that a drug already exists that has a positive effect on acetycholine levels in the brain. This might prevent some who are more frightened of dementia than of the effects of nicotine from starting to smoke or wearing a nicotine patch as an Alzheimer’s disease preventative.
July 14th, 2008 at 1:27 pm
Niacin, taken by many to lower cholesterol, is chemically based on Nicotine; another name for Niacin is Nicotinic Acid. Could it be that it would also have a positive effect on demantia ?
July 14th, 2008 at 2:58 pm
The entire B complex helps the way John mentions for Niacin. Many people who have Alzheimer’s have spent a lifetime eating foods completely devoid of a full complex of any sort of nutrient. I think that Alzheimer’s is precipitated by poor eating habits even among those wealthy enough to buy produce with all the nutrients because culture deems sweets and white flour to be a sign of upperclassness even in a century when Organic Gardening is not just a magazine.