A massive new study involving 1.7 million patients has determined that the risk of dementia drops significantly for those taking semaglutide—the active ingredient used in weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy.
Since it’s approval for medical use in the U.S. less than ten years ago, doctors have been keen to learn more about the effects of semaglutide beyond it’s proven ability to reduce appetite and help people to drop significant amounts of weight. While the likes of Ozempic and Wegovy are alleviating the symptoms of type 2 diabetes, other concerns linger such as how a lifestyle revolving around a weight loss drug could lead to less exercise, and therefor weaker bones.
When it comes to our brains, however, there’s good news according to some major new work completed by Case Western University.
How Was the Study Carried Out?
Weight gain and type 2 diabetes are closely connected to dementia and it is thought that obesity plays a role in damaging brain cells, making it harder for people to use their recall, potentially leading to cardio-vascular events and stroke. To that end, researchers analyzed more than 1.7 million type 2 diabetes patients, to compare the outcomes of those who were and were not prescribed with semaglutide. This included a three year follow up.
What Were the Results?
The data crunching confirmed that patients prescribed with semaglutide developed a significantly lower risk of Alzheimer’s and vascular related dementia, when compared to those on other medications such as metformin or GLP-1RAs (or those not medicated at all). The reduction in risk was even greater in women and older adults.
“There is no cure or effective treatment for dementia, so this new study provides real-world evidence for its potential impact on preventing or slowing dementia development among at-high risk population,” said professor Rong Xu, who led the research team.
This in important area of work to preserve out population’s health, because the National Institutes of Health reports that 42% of Americans over the age of 55 will eventually develop dementia. Women (19-23%) are more likely to suffer than men (11-14%). Work will now continue in order to find out how semaglutide is potentially protecting brain cells. “Our results indicate that research into semaglutide’s use for dementia prevention will need to be further investigated through randomized clinical trials” added Xu, encouraged by these latest breakthrough findings.
