Diabetes drugs could be used to lower intracranial pressure

Repurposing existing GLP-1R agonists used to treat diabetes could be an alternative treatment option for reducing raised intracranial pressure, researchers find.

CT scan of brain suffering from hydrocephalus
Study explores whether glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists could be a potential treatment option for reducing raised intracranial pressure

Mehau Kulyk / Science Photo Library

There are few therapeutic options for reducing raised intracranial pressure (ICP), in conditions such as idiopathic intracranial hypertension or hydrocephalus.

In a study in Science Translational Medicine (23 August 2017), researchers explored whether glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GLP-1R) agonists, which are used to treat diabetes and promote weight loss and are known to modulate fluid balance in the kidney, are also able to modulate cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) secretion[1]
.

Using tissue samples and cell cultures, they showed that the GLP-1R is expressed in the human and rodent choroid plexus, where CSF is produced, and can be activated by administration of the GLP-1R agonist exendin-4. Exendin-4 also reduced activity of the Na+ K+ ATPase pump, a marker of CSF secretion. Furthermore, exendin-4 administration was able to significantly lower ICP in a rat model of hydrocephalus.

Repurposing existing GLP-1R agonists could provide potential alternative treatment options for lowering ICP and warrants clinical investigation, the researchers concluded.

References

[1] Botfield H, Uldall M, Westgate C et al. A glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist reduces intracranial pressure in a rat model of hydrocephalus. Sci Trans Med 2017;9:eaan0972. doi: 10.1126/scitranslmed.aan0972

Last updated
Citation
Clinical Pharmacist, CP, October 2017, Vol 9, No 10;():DOI:10.1211/PJ.2017.20203591

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