A new drug known as T3D-959 treats the disease as though it's actually "diabetes of the brain" -- and many medical experts are encouraged by its results so far in drug studies.

"It's a unique molecule, a unique investigational drug which is designed to hit the very earliest stages before even the plaques and tangles develop and the memory problems develop in these patients," explained Dr. Warren Strittmatter, chief scientific officer at T3D Therapeutics and the former chief of neurology at Duke University Medical Center.

Strittmatter said the brain is dependent on glucose as an energy source. A reduction in glucose metabolism in the brain is one of the hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease.