Research shows that miraculous diet shots can improve brain health and even reduce nicotine dependence.
Semaglutide, the active ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy, is being hailed as a monumental breakthrough in the fight against obesity.
The injections could also reduce the risk of cognitive decline, substance abuse and even encephalitis compared with other diabetes drugs, according to British experts.
The researchers didn’t ask why the drugs, which belong to a class of medications called GLP-1 agonists, might help in this way.
Instead, they called the findings “significant” and said they could pave the way for new treatments, but cautioned that further research is needed.
Dr Riccardo De Giorgi, an expert in adult psychiatry at the University of Oxford and lead author of the study, said: ‘Our results suggest that the use of semaglutide could extend beyond just treating diabetes and may offer unexpected benefits in the treatment and prevention of cognitive decline and substance abuse.
‘Our study findings not only provide reassurance to the millions of patients who rely on semaglutide to treat diabetes, but if confirmed, could also have important public health implications by reducing cognitive deficits and smoking rates among patients with diabetes.’
Study co-author and expert in the treatment of psychiatric disorders at the University of Oxford, Dr Max Taquet, added: ‘Our study is observational and these results therefore need to be replicated in a randomised controlled trial to confirm and extend our findings.
‘However, they are good news for patients with psychiatric disorders, who have an increased risk of diabetes.’
In the study, researchers followed more than 120,000 Americans with type 2 diabetes between 2017 and 2021.
During a one-year follow-up, they compared the risks of 22 neurological and psychiatric conditions in patients taking semaglutide with those in patients taking the type 2 diabetes drug sitagliptin.
A second cohort of semaglutide users was analyzed against empagliflozin and a third against glipizide, both of which are also medications for type 2 diabetes.
The 22 conditions assessed included encephalitis, Parkinson’s disease, cognitive deficits, dementia, epilepsy, migraine, insomnia, nervous disorders, muscular disorders and intracranial hemorrhage.
Other examples include ischemic stroke, alcohol abuse, opioid abuse, cannabis abuse, stimulant abuse, nicotine abuse, psychosis, bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and suicidality.
Writing in the diary, eClinical Medicinescientists said: ‘Semaglutide was not associated with an increased risk of neurological and psychiatric outcomes.
‘Instead, after adjustment for multiple testing, semaglutide was associated with a reduced risk of several such outcomes.’
The greatest risk reduction was seen in encephalitis: patients receiving semaglutide were 74 percent less likely to develop the condition than patients receiving glipizide and 65 percent less likely than patients receiving sitagliptin.
In addition, semaglutide users were 28 percent less likely to have cognitive decline than sitagliptin and glipizide users.
Other large reductions were seen in dementia, with a 48 percent lower risk compared with sitagliptin and 37 percent compared with glipizide.
Nicotine abuse was found to be 28 percent less likely compared to glipizide and 23 percent compared to empagliflozin.
However, the researchers acknowledged that the study had “several limitations,” including no controls for variables such as whether patients took their medications regularly.
‘Because this is an observational study, it cannot be demonstrated that the observed outcomes are side effects of medications,’ they added.
Research has shown that users can lose an average of up to 15.3 kg in 68 weeks using the injections.
They trick the brain into thinking it is full, which reduces appetite and helps people lose weight.
Semaglutide has been available on the NHS since 2019 and in the US for people with type 2 diabetes since 2017. manage blood sugar levels.
In 2022, another semaglutide drug was also approved for weight loss in the UK, and in 2021 in the US under the brand name Wegovy.
Like all medicines, semaglutide can cause side effects that vary in frequency and severity. Reported problems include nausea, constipation, diarrhea, fatigue, stomach pain, headache, and dizziness.
Some patients have also reported strange symptoms, such as hair loss.
The latest NHS data shows that 26 per cent of adults in England are obese, and a further 38 per cent are overweight but not obese. In the US, an estimated 41.9 per cent of the adult population are obese.
While the hormone-mimicking injections are designed to help overweight patients become healthier, there are also growing concerns about the number of normal-weight and underweight patients taking the injections for cosmetic reasons.
Some even required emergency care after getting vaccinated to get “beach body ready.”
Semaglutide — the active ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy — is being hailed as a monumental breakthrough in the fight against obesity. According to British experts, the injections could now also reduce the risk of cognitive decline, substance abuse and even encephalitis, compared with other diabetes drugs.
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Weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy mimic the production of the hormone GLP-1, which helps the body keep full