Scientists believe breakthrough weight loss drugs could also serve as a treatment for dementia.
Wegovy, Ozempic and Mounjaro are being tested as medications for neurological disorders by scientists in the US and Europe.
It is believed that the GLP-1 receptor drugs could improve the ability of existing Alzheimer’s medications to clear amyloid beta plaques from the brain. Doctors believe these plaques are responsible for cognitive decline.
Obesity is a major risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease, which kills 100,000 Americans each year. Experts fear the numbers will double around the world as people live longer and more of the population becomes obese.
In 2021, Novo Nordisk, manufacturer of Ozempic and Wegovy, launched a large-scale three-year trial with 1,840 participants to test its drug as a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease. The University of Oxford has also launched an investigation.
Scientists are beginning to trial the groundbreaking drugs Ozempic, Wegovy and other similar drugs in their class as possible treatments for diseases such as Alzheimer’s. Novo started a trial in 2021 to investigate this (file photo)
Dr. Ted Dawson (left), a neurologist at Johns Hopkins University, told DailyMail.com that initial research showed his lab found the drugs effective against Alzheimer’s disease in mice. Dr. Suzanne Craft (right), an elderly care specialist from Wake Forest University, told DailyMail.com that the GLP-1 drugs could be used alongside existing Alzheimer’s treatment
Novos process, called ‘EVOKE’ is the first of many that have or will launch to test how glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) drugs work against neurological disorders.
Other research, such as a trial led by neuropsychiatrist Dr. Ivan Koychev of the University of Oxford is testing GLP-1 drugs against Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.
The basis of this research was published in 2018, when researchers at Johns Hopkins found that chemicals that activated the body’s GLP-1 receptors showed promise in fighting dementia in mice.
‘This [drugs] protected neurons from degeneration,” Dr. Ted Dawson, a neurologist at Johns Hopkins University whose lab led the research, told DailyMail.com.
“A compound we developed stopped the activation of neurotoxins that kill the brain’s neurons.”
In the research, published in the journal Naturea GLP-1 agonist developed by the Hopkins team blocked the harmful effects of beta, tau and alpha-synuclein proteins.
All of these proteins are produced naturally in the brain to play a role in regulating bodily functions.
In some cases, however, they can become damaged or become too active, destroying some of the brain’s neurons and causing the cognitive decline that has become a hallmark of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
Dr. Dawson said his lab had completed phase II trials for the agonist as a treatment for Parkinson’s, and it was unsuccessful.
However, they found that it was effective in preventing brain damage in younger people who had not yet been affected by the disease.
Drugs such as semaglutide – the active ingredient in Wegovy and Ozempic – work by activating hormones in the body that stimulate the production of insulin.
For a type 2 diabetic, the extra production of insulin can help regulate blood sugar levels.
This was the goal behind Ozempic, developed by Novo and approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat the disease in 2017.
As a side effect of the drug, the body would also feel full for longer and would no longer have an appetite for food. This led to users experiencing intense weight loss.
After clinical trials showed that, in addition to diet and exercise, the drug could help a person lose 15 percent of their weight over 68 weeks, Wegovy received approval in 2021 specifically for weight loss.
The drug pair has been a golden goose for Denmark’s Novo, now the Scandinavian nation’s most valuable company.
Recent data shows that one in 60 Americans is now taking either drug. Market insiders predict that Novo will bring in $100 billion in revenue over the next decade.
Dr. Percy Griffin, director of scientific engagement at the Alzheimer’s Association, told DailyMail.com: “Given the mechanisms of action of these types of drugs and the biological changes associated with Alzheimer’s, it makes sense to investigate whether these drugs can slow the progression . of the disease.’
Alzheimer’s is a complex disease involving changes in several aspects of brain biology. It is unlikely that one drug would completely stop the progression of the disease. This highlights the need for an arsenal of drugs targeting all aspects of the biological changes to defeat this devastating disease.
Dr. Suzanne Craft, a professor of geriatric medicine at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, told DailyMail.com that controlling weight and insulin levels can also help prevent neurological disease.
Metabolic abnormalities — problems such as high blood sugar, high blood pressure, and excess fat around the waste products — increase a person’s risk of cognitive decline.
Dr. Craft explains that these problems that GLP-1 drugs work against are directly related to cognitive problems.
‘There is a fairly long existing one [research] linking metabolic abnormalities as a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease,” she said.
“We think curing metabolic defects can help fight the disease.”
She said the drugs would work best if used alongside existing Alzheimer’s-specific medications, such as lecanemab, approved by the FDA earlier this year.
‘That’s one of the most promising ways they can be used. There is a lot of evidence linking metabolism [issues] And [toxic proteins].’
“One of the most concerning side effects [existing Alzheimer’s treatments] is the inflammation they cause in the brain.
“Insulin has anti-inflammatory properties.”
Lecanemab was a breakthrough drug, which in studies showed that it could reduce the cognitive decline associated with Alzheimer’s disease by 27 percent in 18 months.
The drug works by fighting plaques in the brain caused by amyloid beta.
This is done by infusing the brain with antibodies that identify and destroy the protein as it forms.
However, as part of this process, the brain will sometimes experience intense swelling. This swelling was linked to the death of deceased patients during the clinical trials of the drug.
Dr. Charles Bernick, a neurologist at the Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas, Nevada, told DailyMail.com, “There is some evidence that [semglutide] may reduce inflammation in the brain and promote nerve cell growth.”
These drugs can also help repair the damage caused by plaque buildup in the brain.
Amyloid beta binds to insulin receptors in the brain. This damages the organ’s communication network, leading to cognitive decline.
Combining drugs that destroy the proteins with drugs that increase insulin secretion allows the hormone to bind to these receptors.
Dr. Craft said this would help restore synapses in the brain, the points of neurons that connect to send nerve signals.
The drugs’ ability to help a person control diabetes and overcome obesity also has a simpler connection to preventing Alzheimer’s disease and other neurological disorders.
Obesity and type 2 diabetes are known to be significant risk factors for cognitive decline.
The earlier in life a person gets their overall health under control, the better off their brain will be in the long run, Dr. Dawson said.
“If you look at the data, it’s very clear that people with type 2 diabetes are more likely to get Alzheimer’s disease,” he said.
‘The idea is that [these drugs] would probably lower Alzheimer’s cases.’
Dr. Griffin added: ‘Alzheimer’s is a complex disease involving changes in several aspects of brain biology. It is unlikely that one drug would completely stop the progression of the disease.
“This highlights the need for an arsenal of drugs that target all aspects of the biological changes to defeat this devastating disease.”
Dr. Bernick said, “The more drugs we have to fight a disease like Alzheimer’s … the better.”