THURSDAY, Oct. 24, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Add Alzheimer’s disease to the list of conditions that might benefit from the revolutionary diabetes drug Ozempic, a new study says.

People with type 2 diabetes taking semaglutide appeared to have a significantly lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s compared to patients taking seven other diabetes drugs, researchers reported Oct. 24 in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia.

The results jibe with other studies that have found semaglutide might protect against dementia, said lead researcher Rong Xu, a biomedical informatics professor with Case Western Reserve School of Medicine, in Cleveland.

“This new study provides real-world evidence for its impact on Alzheimer’s disease, even though preclinical research has suggested that semaglutide may protect against neurodegeneration and neuroinflammation,” Xu said in a Case Western news release.

Semaglutide is a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) drug, and is the active agent in Ozempic and its weight-loss cousin, Wegovy. These medications mimic the GLP-1 hormone, which helps control insulin and blood sugar levels, decreases appetite and slows digestion of food.

For the study, researchers analyzed three years of health records for nearly 1 million U.S. patients with type 2 diabetes.

They found that patients prescribed semaglutide had a significantly lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease, compared to those taking seven other diabetes meds.

However, they warned that more research is needed to confirm this potential benefit.

“Our results indicate that further research into semaglutide’s use will need to be further investigated through randomized clinical trials so alternative drugs can be tested as potential treatment for this debilitating illness,” Xu said.

More information

The Mayo Clinic has more on the health benefits of semaglutide.

SOURCE: Case Western Reserve University, news release, Oct. 24, 2024