Study Highlights New Potential for Semaglutide
Researchers at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine have identified that semaglutide, a popular diabetes and weight-loss drug, may lower the risk of Alzheimer’s disease in people with type 2 diabetes (T2D).
This study, published today in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association, found that patients taking semaglutide showed a significantly lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s compared to those on seven other anti-diabetic medications.
Why This Matters: Alzheimer’s Impact and Growing Need
Alzheimer’s disease affects nearly 7 million Americans over 65, and annual deaths from Alzheimer’s exceed those from breast and prostate cancers combined.
As the fifth-leading cause of death in the U.S., Alzheimer’s disease claims approximately 120,000 lives each year, according to the CDC. Preventive treatments have become a critical focus in Alzheimer’s research as cases continue to rise.
Research Approach and Findings
Led by biomedical informatics professor Rong Xu, the Case Western team analyzed three years of electronic health records from nearly one million U.S. patients with T2D.
Using a statistical method designed to simulate a randomized clinical trial, they found that semaglutide users had a substantially reduced risk of Alzheimer’s compared to those on other anti-diabetic drugs, including other GLP-1 receptor (GLP-1R) medications. The results were consistent across various subgroups, such as age, gender, and obesity status.
Understanding Semaglutide’s Role
Semaglutide, found in popular drugs like Wegovy and Ozempic, is a GLP-1 receptor agonist that regulates blood sugar and decreases hunger in T2D patients.
Prior preclinical studies have indicated that semaglutide might protect against neurodegeneration and neuroinflammation, which are key factors in Alzheimer’s disease progression.
The Need for Further Research
While these findings support the idea that semaglutide could play a role in Alzheimer’s prevention, Professor Xu emphasized the study’s observational nature, highlighting the need for further clinical trials to confirm causality.
Xu, who also directs the Center for AI in Drug Discovery, noted that these trials are necessary to explore semaglutide and potentially other drugs as treatments for Alzheimer’s.
“Our results indicate that semaglutide’s impact on Alzheimer’s should be further explored through randomized clinical trials,” Xu stated. “This research could open pathways for new treatment options for this debilitating illness.”
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