Could a diabetes and weight loss drug benefit the brain? Here’s what scientists are learning.
Over a decade ago, a smattering of studies suggested that early cousins of drugs like Ozempic and Mounjaro could prevent, or even reverse, signs of Alzheimer’s disease in mice. Now, as the next generation of these medications has soared in popularity, and scientists discover they may have wide-ranging health benefits, research is revving up to investigate whether the drugs that upended diabetes and obesity care could also revolutionize Alzheimer’s treatment.
Emerging evidence seems encouraging — but questions and caveats abound.
“I think they’re definitely promising,” said Karolina Skibicka, a neuroscientist and the chair in metabolic physiology at Pennsylvania State University. “And that’s sort of how far I would go with the currently available evidence.”
The Early Findings
Research in rodents has largely shown that these types of diabetes and obesity drugs, which mimic metabolic hormones, can improve several hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease in the brain, as well as boost the animals’ ability to learn and remember. However, there is a long history of all sorts of drugs treating Alzheimer’s in mice but not providing the same benefits for humans.
There are only a few studies so far examining whether these medications can reduce the risk for dementia in people.
One recent analysis found that, over the course of three years, people taking semaglutide (the compound in Ozempic and the weight loss drug Wegovy) were about 40 to 70 percent less likely to be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease compared with people on other diabetes medications.
A paper published this month reviewing a Veterans Affairs database similarly found that people prescribed these drugs were less likely to develop dementia compared with those who took other diabetes drugs. The benefit was more modest, though, with a roughly 10 percent decreased risk.