Could a drug for diabetes help in the treatment of hydrocephalus?
Hydrocephalus is a life-threatening condition in babies caused by raised intracranial pressure due to an increase in cerebrospinal fluid volume. Now, Botfield et al. show that the glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GLP-1R), known to modulate fluid homeostasis in the kidney, is expressed in human and rodent choroid plexus, the brain area responsible for cerebrospinal fluid secretion. The authors show that treating a rat model of hydrocephalus with a GLP-1R agonist reduced intracranial pressure. This suggests that GLP-1R agonists, approved for treating diabetes, could be repurposed for treating hydrocephalus and potentially other conditions characterized by raised ICP.
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