Can ozempic protect itself against Alzheimer’s disease?

Over a decade ago lick With studies He suggested that early cousins ​​of drugs such as Ozmpic and Mounjaro could prevent and even reverse the signs of Alzheimer’s disease in mice. Now, when the next generation of these drugs has increased from popularity, and scientists discover that they may have extensive health benefits, studies come alive to examine whether drugs that raise diabetes and care for obesity can also revolutionize the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.

The emerging evidence seems encouraging – but a lot of questions and reservations.

“I think they are definitely promising,” said Karolina Skibicka, a neurobiologist and chairwoman of metabolic physiology at Pennsylvania State University. “I would go so much with currently available evidence.”

Early arrangements

Rodents tests it is largely shown That this type of diabetes and obesity drugs that imitate metabolic hormones can improve several characteristics of Alzheimer’s disease in the brain, as well as raise animals’ ability to learn and remember. However, there is a long history of all kinds of drugs treating Alzheimer’s disease in mice, but without providing the same benefits for people.

Until now, there are only a few studies that these drugs can reduce the risk of dementia in humans.

One last analysis It was found that within three years, people taking semaglutide (compound in ozempic and slimming drug Wegova) were about 40 to 70 percent less likely that Alzheimer’s disease was diagnosed compared to people on other diabetes medicines.

Paper Veterans’ database published this month showed that people prescribed by these drugs less often developed dementia compared to those who took other diabetes. The benefit, however, was tiny, at about 10 percent reduced risk.

The discoveries seem promising. But because these studies are observational, “it is really challenging to determine” whether medicines directly cause this benefit, or whether this lower risk is more a coincidence, said Dr. Ziyad al-Vy, head of research and development in the healthcare system of St. Louis St. Louis and author of the study.

There are also clinical trials that test whether drugs can be treated with dementia. Preliminary findings One study with the participation of about 200 patients was presented at the meeting of the Alzheimer Association last summer. They showed that patients with subtle Alzheimer’s disease, who received older, similar drugs (liraglutide, sold under the Victoza brand), had slower declines both in their knowledge and brain volume compared to patients who received placebo.

The benefits were tiny, and scientists could not say whether they would significantly change the patient’s condition. But Dr. Paul Edison, a professor of neurobiology at Imperial College London, who led the trial, said that they “encouraged him” through the results.

Other trial Testing is underway, whether semaglutide can delay the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.

How drugs can work

Scientists do not know how drugs such as ozempic can protect against neurodegenerative diseases – in fact they are still trying to understand how these drugs generally affect the brain. But they have several theories:

Improve metabolic health.

Diabetes and obesity raise the chances of developing dementia, so it is possible that drugs reduce this risk by improving metabolic health.

Two conditions are associated with increased inflammation in the body, and many scientists believe that reducing inflammation is at least partly, how drugs improve other health conditions, including heart and kidney disease. The same dynamics can occur in the brain: inflammation can kill cells and contribute to neurodegenerative disease, and these drugs can assist by reduction.

Dr. Skibicka said that there is some evidence from animal research, that drugs can suppress encephalitis. But, she added, scientists cannot directly connect it with the improvement of Alzheimer’s disease.

Drugs can also reduce insulin resistance, diabetes recognition sign. The fit functioning of insulin is crucial for memory creation, and insulin resistance has been associated with Alzheimer’s disease. Animal tests suggest that because these drugs can improve insulin signaling in the brain, they can protect against neurodegeneration, said Nigel Greig, a senior researcher at the National Institutes of Health, who studied these drugs for neurodegenerative disorders.

They can employ the brain itself.

Scientists know that these drugs are focused on some receptors in the brain, especially in areas crucial for hunger and metabolism. Whether they can also significantly act in the regions involved in learning and memory is an open question.

Dr. Skibicka said that studies have shown that the older and less common Exenatide (sold under the Byetta brand) can access the deeper parts of the brain. This includes a hippocampus, an area that is damaged at the beginning of Alzheimer’s disease. Data on other drugs, including semaglutide and liraglutide, are more mixed. Some experts believe that molecules of these drugs have difficulty crossing the blood-brain barrier, preventing them from being effective. Scientists hope that currently developed drugs can better access these deeper brain structures.

At last, several Tests at mice They discovered that drugs can reduce the accumulation of tau protein in the brain, which is a key factor contributing to Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. Greig said that the scaling of TAU accumulation can potentially assist people to separate people, although various drugs tried to aim at Tau and achieved mixed results.

Most likely, potential drug benefits would result not only from one factor, but a combination of many. “The drug is not only working on retaining insulin,” said Dr. Edison. “It clearly works on other mechanisms. We know it for sure. “

And regardless of how they work, if slimming and diabetes drugs can be changed to prevent dementia or treatment, experts call it victory.

“The landscape of Alzheimer’s therapeutics is very, very gaunt,” said Dr. Al-Liy. “There are not many things that work, so every addition to this repertoire would certainly be welcome.”