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Ozempic cuts risk of dementia, study suggests

Ozempic cuts risk of dementia, study suggests

Telegraph07-04-2025
Weight-loss jabs can cut the risk of dementia, a study suggests.
Scientists at the University of Florida said that semaglutide in particular, whose brand names include Wegovy and Ozempic, showed promise in cutting the risk of conditions that impair memory and thought processes.
Experts said the study was encouraging and called for further research to shed light on how these drugs affect the brain.
A study by the University of Oxford in 2024 suggested that Ozempic could cut the risk of dementia by half.
Academics in the US analysed data from type 2 diabetes patients who were taking either GLP-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs), which work by reducing food cravings, or sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT-2i) which reduce the amount of glucose the kidneys re-absorb, allowing it to pass out of the body in urine.
GLP-1RAs is a class of medication that includes semaglutide as well as the brand Rybelus, which is taken as a tablet.
Wegovy was approved to tackle weight loss on the NHS in 2023, while Ozempic and Rybelus are available as treatments for type 2 diabetes.
The study included the health records of 396,963 people over 50 from January 2014 to June 2023.
Statistically significant results
All had type 2 diabetes but no diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD).
Researchers compared those on GLP-1RAs, SGLT-2i and other, second-line glucose-lowering drugs.
The analysis found that 'both GLP-1RAs and SGLT2is were statistically significantly associated with decreased risk of ADRD compared with other GLDs, and no difference was observed between both drugs'.
Meanwhile, it was found that among the GLP-1RAs, 'semaglutide seems to be promising in reducing the risk of ADRD'.
'This finding is particularly intriguing given the existing research on semaglutide's neuroprotective properties,' researchers added.
Dr Leah Mursaleen, head of clinical research at Alzheimer's Research UK, said: 'We don't know yet why these medicines may be offering a protective effect and will need more research to understand how they are affecting the brain.'
She added that while the findings were 'interesting', it was important to consider if other factors might be influencing results such as overall health, income or education.
Researchers in Ireland have suggested GLP-1RAs are 'associated with a statistically significant reduction in dementia '.
Their study analysed 26 clinical trials involving almost 165,000 patients to determine if drugs such as SGLT2is and GLP-1RAs, as well as diabetes medications metformin and pioglitazone, led to a reduction in risk of dementia or cognitive impairment.
It found most drugs 'were not associated with an overall reduction in all-cause dementia' although GLP-1RAs were associated with a 'statistically significant reduction'.
Both studies have been published in the journal Jama Neurology.
Track people for longer
Dr Richard Oakley, director of research and innovation at Alzheimer's Society, said: 'Whilst both of these studies found a link between GLP-1RAs and reduced dementia risk, only one found SGLT2is, another class of diabetes drug, were also associated with a reduced risk.
'More research is needed by tracking people for longer, especially as they get older.'
Prof Tara Spires-Jones, director of the Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences at the University of Edinburgh, said the data was 'encouraging'.
'But even within these two strong studies, there are slightly conflicting results over SGLT2is, highlighting the need for further research,' she said.
'It is important to note that these drugs do have side effects and they are not guaranteed to prevent dementia.
'The studies had important limitations including a relatively short follow-up time.'
Masud Husain, a professor of neurology and cognitive neuroscience at the University of Oxford, said: 'These analyses suggest that GLP-1 receptor agonists, particularly semaglutide, might reduce the risk of developing dementia in people with type 2 diabetes.
'The wider question of whether such drugs might also be protective against dementia in people who don't have diabetes is a really intriguing one, and the focus of several ongoing clinical trials,' she added.
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My Dad had a stroke on a Sunday. On a weekday, he might have lived
My Dad had a stroke on a Sunday. On a weekday, he might have lived

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  • Scotsman

My Dad had a stroke on a Sunday. On a weekday, he might have lived

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Breakthrough weight-loss drug works without nausea or vomiting, scientists reveal
Breakthrough weight-loss drug works without nausea or vomiting, scientists reveal

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Breakthrough weight-loss drug works without nausea or vomiting, scientists reveal

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The five-day doctors' strike will only do harm
The five-day doctors' strike will only do harm

The Independent

timean hour ago

  • The Independent

The five-day doctors' strike will only do harm

Between 7am on Friday 25 July and 7am on Wednesday 30 July, there will be a significant deterioration in healthcare in England and Wales. Whatever else may be claimed about patient safety protocols and safeguards, people in pain and distress will suffer more than they would if the resident doctors were working and not going on strike. After all, if the coming five days of industrial action were likely to go unnoticed, the strike would not be taking place. It is hard to see how, over the next week or so, lives will not be put at more risk than if the hospitals and clinics were working normally – and that is still, sadly, an unsatisfactory situation to start from. Indeed, there will be unwelcome extra pressure on the NHS for some time to come, because of the backlog of postponed procedures that will have to be cleared. These may not be as severe as after past disputes, because this time hospital managers are not prioritising emergency care to the same extent, and are protecting scheduled, 'elective' surgery to a greater extent. There is clearly a will on the part of management to ensure that those who cause this interruption in service do not then go on to receive generous overtime for reducing the backlogs they themselves have created. None of this is anything that the striking doctors desire, and there's no reason to doubt that many feel they are being forced into this position. Those on duty will still do their very best for their patients. Nonetheless, the doctors should ask themselves whether all of the misery, and worse, that will inevitably occur is necessary this time. There are strong reasons why this round of industrial action will not be worth it. First, no group of strikers can succeed without public support. In the past, under the Conservatives, the incessant NHS strikes by resident doctors, nurses, support staff and consultants were, in fact, solidly backed by the public, who sympathised with their cause even if it meant that the medical treatment they needed might be postponed. Now, the support is much softer, and a majority of the population opposes the strikes. There have been major changes, too, since the previous round of strikes, all connected to the election of a Labour government committed to the survival of the NHS. One of the first things the new chancellor, Rachel Reeves, did on arriving at the Treasury last July was to pay the salary increases recommended by the independent pay review body in full – a 22 per cent uplift over two years, a startling settlement by comparison with most other workers. Not long after that, Ms Reeves raised taxes to pay for an immediate programme to reduce waiting lists, recruit and train more staff, and invest for the longer term in the NHS. The new health and social care secretary, Wes Streeting, also announced his plan to abolish NHS England, and to implement radical reforms to improve productivity. Taken together, these developments should have signalled to NHS staff that this was a government that wanted the best for the service. In this context, at the start of the journey to a renewed NHS, and with that sizeable pay rise having been implemented, it feels very wrong that the doctors should undermine these efforts, and the progress that has already been recorded, by setting things back again for weeks, if not months, to come. Worse than that, to many it will seem as though the NHS is unfixable, and that it needs more fundamental change. If it appears that Labour can't do much better than the Conservatives at making the NHS work, people will wonder whether it is time for a more radical approach. 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