CHICAGO, Feb 2  - Insulin appears to shield the brain from toxic proteins associated with Alzheimer’s disease, U.S. researchers said on Monday, supporting a theory that Alzheimer’s may be a third form of diabetes.
And they said GlaxoSmithKline’s diabetes drug Avandia, or rosiglitazone, which increases sensitivity to insulin, appeared to enhance this protective effect.
“Our results demonstrate that bolstering insulin signaling can protect neurons from harm,” William Klein of Northwestern University, whose study appears in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, said in a statement.
Klein said the findings support a new …