Weight loss jabs linked to lower dementia and stroke risk
People with type 2 diabetes and obesity who are taking the drugs are also less likely to die prematurely, researchers found.
Academics said the benefits of drugs such as Wegovy and Mounjaro – including for managing weight and blood sugar levels – are well known, but other health benefits of the popular drugs remain 'unclear'.
The study saw experts from Taiwan examine date on 60,000 people from around the world, with an average age of 58, who had type 2 diabetes and obesity.
Around half were given GLP agonist drugs semaglutide and tirzepatide – which are sold under the brand names Wegovy and Mounjaro. Semaglutide is also the main ingredient for the type 2 diabetes drug Ozempic.
GLP agonists can reduce a person's appetite; slow down their digestion; reduce the amount of sugar the liver makes and they help the body to make more insulin when needed.
The other half used other anti-diabetic medication.
During a seven-year follow-up period, researchers found that people given the GLP agonist drugs appeared to have a 37% lower risk of dementia and a 19% reduced risk of stroke.
GLP-1s like #Ozempic, #Saxenda, #Wegovy, or #Mounjaro are not an easy #weightloss hack.
Find out more about:🔵what they are ❓🔵how they're used 💊🔵who they help 💪
🔗Learn more: https://t.co/GY4a7VRAgF pic.twitter.com/Agiav8ryfU
— EU Medicines Agency (@EMA_News) January 4, 2025
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.
They found no differences in Parkinson's disease or brain bleeds.
The academics said their findings suggest 'potential neuroprotective and cerebrovascular benefits' of the drugs but they called for more studies to confirm the findings.
'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.
Commenting on 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.'
Dr Richard Oakley, associate director of research and innovation at Alzheimer's Society, said: 'It is well established that diabetes and obesity can increase your risk of developing dementia.
'This study supports existing evidence that shows these drugs may reduce dementia risk, particularly for people aged 60 and over who are living with type 2 diabetes and obesity.
'Although interesting, we can't draw conclusions from this study alone as it is an observational study, only a small number of people who took part went on to develop dementia and as the impact of these drugs on different types of dementia is not clear.
'There are clinical trials currently looking at whether drugs like these can be used to treat early-stage Alzheimer's disease, so this is a really exciting area being explored in the research fight against dementia.'
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Results from a study in mice presented at the 2024 European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) Congress showed azemiglitazone with liraglutide led to significant preservation of lean body mass over liraglutide alone. Liraglutide is sold by Novo Nordisk as Saxenda. The therapy also increased brown adipose tissue, key to weight loss according to Boss. He notes brown adipose cells have a greater number of mitochondria than white cells, meaning this tissue is disproportionally responsible for energy expenditure. Sulfide donors Oxford, UK-based MitoRx Therapeutics is taking another approach involving the mitochondria. Myo-4 restores dysfunctional sulfide signaling in mitochondria to enhance metabolism, an approach stemming from the work of cofounder and CSO Matthew Whiteman, PhD, who found that fat loss correlates with systemic levels of sulfur-containing amino acids in patients. As per data presented at the 2025 European Conference on Obesity in May, Myo-4 normalised blood sugar levels in mice while reducing the loss of muscle and bone mass in comparison to semaglutide. 'We've got immense advantages over a GLP-1RA,' says Jon Rees, MitoRX CEO. The company plans to begin clinical study in 2027. New approaches raise fresh concerns Boss believes the next generation of obesity treatments must include agents like these that increase resting metabolic rates. His own company is developing therapeutics to enhance energy expenditure for weight loss by increasing patients' brown fat mass. But he warns that in their effort to overcome the shortcomings of GLP-1RAs, mitochondrial modulators introduce their own risks. According to Vidal-Puig, strategies like uncoupling may be effective in brown fat cells, but uncouplers need to be targeted to these tissues and away from other organs like the heart, liver, and kidneys where mitochondria support vital functions. Unless this is achieved, he suspects the window between minimum effective doses and maximum tolerated ones could prove too narrow. Boss points out that as far back as 1938, the uncoupler dinitrophenol saw its US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval withdrawn over safety concerns. Beyond uncouplers, he says target selectivity is a key issue for other mechanisms such as creatine-dependent thermogenesis. Though effective in brown fat cells, he notes these are sparse among obese patients with greater numbers of white fat cells. A synergistic solution In terms of where these drugs might fit in the current landscape, Boss says 'We're not trying to replace GLP1-RAs, but to complement them.' Garat says Eolo is also considering a similar approach. In both cases, developers have found encouraging results in combination with GLP-1RAs. Vidal-Puig suggests mitochondrial modulators could bolster GLP-1RAs by maintaining patients' rate of energy expenditure to better sustain weight loss and retain bone and muscle. Combined treatments would likely also lower the doses of GLP-1RAs needed, which Boss believes could be key in limiting their associated side effects such as nausea. In contrast, Rees envisions Myo-4 as a monotherapy. 'In 10 years' time, it won't be acceptable to people who are living with obesity to risk loss of muscle mass and function', he states. 'This is the first flush of weight loss medicines. They've created a huge market and now it's time for the next generation of molecules to come forward.' "Targeting energy expenditure: the next wave for obesity drugs" was originally created and published by Pharmaceutical Technology, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. 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