United States: Novo Nordisk’s diabetes drug which is called Ozempic, might help lower or almost lessen the chances of getting Alzheimer’s disease. A recent study found that its active ingredient, semaglutide, can already in advance reduce the risk of being treated with Alzheimer’s by almost 40 percent to 70 percent for people with Type 2 diabetes.
This finding is exciting just because it shows that Ozempic actually may not only help manage diabetes but could also delay or prevent memory loss associated with Alzheimer’s. The study compared Ozempic to seven other diabetes medicines, including insulin, and found that it had better results in reducing the risk of Alzheimer’s.
As reported by the Health Day, Alzheimer’s disease, they say is usually diagnosed at the mild dementia level where an individual experiences difficulty in remembering things and thinking. Approximately 6.5 million Americans live with it, which ranks as the fifths most common cause of death for those aged 65 and older, said the Alzheimer’s Association.
However, there are now approximately more than 5 million Alzheimer’s disease patients in the United States currently, though this number is expected to grow to nearly 13 million by midway through the middle part of the next century.
Alzheimer’s disease has no cure; it only has medications that can help control the signs of the disease or alleviate its advancement in those in the early stage of the disease.
But a potential preventive treatment like semaglutide may be even more useful, said lead study co-author Dr Rong Xu of Case Western Reserve University.
It does so because, despite the fact that many patients who are diagnosed with the disease can still be treated, “it is too late,” Xu informed CNBC. With due concern she said that most of the risk factors associating Alzheimer’s are either non-modifiable, or preventable.
Researchers’ findings contribute to growing body of research on GLP-1s, a well-used type of obesity and diabetes drugs, suggesting that they can be good for the body in ways beyond making people lose weight and maintain normal blood sugar levels. That includes Novo Nordisk’s weight loss injection Wegovy, and drugs from Eli Lilly
That are somewhat different regarding their operation.
The two manufacturers, Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, have been researching the drugs as possible therapies for chronic diseases including sleep apnea and fatty liver disease. Drug maker Novo Nordisk, which has not sponsored the new case western study, is similarly in a late stage semaglutide trial involving Alzheimer’s patients.
The published on Thursday’s other recent Case Western study is based of other releases on one dose daily drug for type 2 diabetes and obesity called liraglutide produced by Novo Nordisk under brands Saxenda, Victoza.