A new US study reports semaglutide – active ingredient in weight loss GLP-1 medications Ozempic and Wegovy – may help lower dementia risk in people with Type 2 diabetes.
Scientists at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio analysed electronic health record data from more than 1.7 million adults with type 2 diabetes for three years to see if they developed any Alzheimer’s disease-related dementias (ADRD) including Lewy body dementia, vascular dementia and frontotemporal dementia.
The researchers, whose study was published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, found participants taking semaglutide had a significantly lower risk of developing vascular dementia than those taking any other type 2 diabetes medication, including insulin, metformin and older generation GLP-1s.
Lead author Prof Riong Xu told medicalnewstoday.com: ‘Our findings show semaglutide treatment in patients with diabetes appears to protect from vascular dementia and other dementia, but not frontotemporal or Lewy body dementia.’
Researchers say semaglutide targets several dementia risk factors, in addition to being anti- inflammatory, which could explain this benefit.
Prof Xu noted: ‘Currently, there is no cure for dementia. On the other hand, about 50 percent of dementia cases are preventable by targeting its 14 known modifiable risk factors.
“However, each risk factor contributes 1-7 percent to the overall dementia risk. Therefore, we need prevention strategies that simultaneously target multiple dementia risk factors.
‘Semaglutide is highly effective in simultaneously targeting several dementia risk factors, including obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, and appears to also be beneficial for counteracting smoking and alcohol drinking.
‘In addition, semaglutide has anti-inflammatory effects, and inflammation plays a significant role in the development and progression of all-cause dementias.
‘These suggest semaglutide could be an effective pharmacological prevention strategy for dementia in high-risk populations such as patients with type 2 diabetes.’
