Diabetes Drug Ozempic May Lower Alzheimer's Risk

Imagine being told that a diabetes medication could also help protect against a scary disease like Alzheimer's. That's what researchers from Case Western Reserve School of Medicine found out. They looked at over a million patient records and discovered that seniors with Type 2 diabetes who took semaglutide (the active ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy) were up to 70% less likely to get Alzheimer's compared to those taking insulin. This effect was even more surprising because semaglutide did better than another diabetes drug, liraglutide, which was also linked to slower Alzheimer's progression in a previous study. The researchers, led by Rong Xu, used healthcare data from patients over 60 who started taking diabetes drugs like insulin, Ozempic, or liraglutide. They wanted to see how these medications affected cognitive health over three years. The study was published in the journal Alzheimer's and Dementia.

Xu was surprised that semaglutide performed better than liraglutide. She wondered if a higher dose of semaglutide could have an even stronger effect. Ozempic is prescribed at up to 2 mg per week, while Wegovy, its weight loss version, can be prescribed at 2. 4 mg. The study suggests that more research is needed to understand semaglutide's potential protective effect against Alzheimer's. Novo Nordisk, the maker of Ozempic and Wegovy, is currently conducting Phase 3 trials to explore this further. These drugs are showing promise in preventing Alzheimer's and even reducing the urge to drink and smoke. But the exact reason why they work this way is still a mystery.

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