A new study found weight loss injections may help reduce the risk of dementia and stroke in people who are obese and have type 2 diabetes
Weight loss injections could potentially prevent dementia and stroke, a recent study suggests. The research also indicates that individuals with type 2 diabetes and obesity who use these medications may have a lower risk of premature death.
Academics note the benefits of drugs like Wegovy and Mounjaro for weight and blood sugar management are well-documented, but that other potential health benefits remain “unclear”. The study involved Taiwanese experts analysing data from 60,000 global participants, averaging 58-years-old, all of whom had type 2 diabetes and obesity.
Approximately half were administered GLP agonist drugs semaglutide and tirzepatide – marketed as Wegovy and Mounjaro respectively. Semaglutide is also the primary component in the type 2 diabetes medication Ozempic.
GLP agonists can curb appetite, slow digestion, decrease liver-produced sugar, and stimulate insulin production when necessary. The remaining participants used alternative anti-diabetic drugs.
Over a seven-year follow-up period, it was observed that those given the GLP agonist drugs seemed to have a 37% lower risk of dementia and a 19% reduced risk of stroke, reports Plymouth Live. They were also 30% less likely to die during the follow-up period.
Further analysis revealed even greater benefits among participants aged 60 or older, women, and those with a body mass index score of 30 to 40. They were also 30% less likely to die during the follow-up period. And when researchers looked at the data further they found even greater benefits in people aged 60 or older, women, and those with a body mass index score of 30 to 40.
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“These findings suggest that semaglutide and tirzepatide may offer neuroprotective and cerebrovascular benefits beyond glycemic control, potentially improving long-term cognitive and survival outcomes in adults with type 2 diabetes and obesity,” they wrote in the journal JAMA Network Open.
Reacting to the study, Professor Tara Spires-Jones, director of the Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences at the University of Edinburgh and group leader in the UK Dementia Research Institute, said: “This is a very interesting study adding to evidence that GLP1 receptor agonists are associated with a lower risk of dementia in people with type 2 diabetes and obesity.
“This type of study cannot determine whether the drugs reduced disease risk by directly protecting the brain. It is highly likely that effectively treating type 2 diabetes and obesity would reduce dementia and stroke risk as they are known risk factors for these conditions.
“Further work is needed including randomised clinical trials to confirm these drugs are protective in people with diabetes and obesity and other trials are needed to determine whether these drugs will be protective in people who do not have type 2 diabetes and obesity.”