A cheap, generic diabetes drug may be able to stave off symptoms of Alzheimer's disease, according to a recent study Counsel and Heal reported.

Researchers from the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases found that the type 2 diabetes drug, pioglitazone, which is sold as Actos created by Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd, can prevent the onset of Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of dementia.

"The long-term use of pioglitazone reduces the risk of dementia incidences," researcher Anne Fink said at the annual meeting of the Alzheimer's Association International Conference in Copenhagen, according toReuters.

For the clinical trial, the research team collected and analyzed data taken from German healthcare plans between 2004 and 2010. This involved nearly 145,000 patients who were 60 years old and older who did not have any signs of dementia at the beginning of the study.

Researchers found that 13,841 subjects eventually developed dementia, and that those taking pioglitazone had a six percent reduced risk of dementia.

According to Reuters, Fink said pioglitazone may have helped prevent the onset of Alzheimer's by reducing inflammation in the brain and nervous system, "although other effects of the drug might also be at play.

The findings are the latest to suggest that cheap generic treatment for diabetes can reduce Alzheimer's risk. Previous studies have suggested that people given pioglitazone, the widely used pill for type-2 diabetes, were less likely to develop the neurodegenerative disease.

"It was very important to do this study," Ben Wolozin told Bloomberg News. "However, it's actually almost surprising to me that the lowering of relative risk was so weak."

He added that the 6 percent reduction seen in the study is "such a small effect that it's unlikely to translate into an observable difference in everyday practice."

The findings were presented today at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference in Copenhagen.