A study analyzing nearly 1.7 million patients with type 2 diabetes found that semaglutide significantly reduces Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia risk compared to other diabetes medications. Patients taking semaglutide had a 46% lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, including vascular dementia, than those on insulin or metformin. The study suggests potential neuroprotective benefits for semaglutide in reducing the risk of more common dementia subtypes.
Researchers used a real-world population with type 2 diabetes and compared patients initiating semaglutide to those starting other antidiabetic medications. The results indicate that semaglutide’s protective effect was particularly strong for vascular dementia, while no significant association was found for frontotemporal dementia or Lewy body dementia. However, the study also highlights limitations, including underdiagnosis and misclassification of dementia diagnosis.
The findings support the potential neuroprotective benefits of semaglutide in patients with type 2 diabetes, especially in reducing the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. The researchers emphasize the need for further studies to establish causal effects through randomized trials and economic analyses to examine the cost-effectiveness of integrating pharmacotherapy-based prevention strategies with existing behavior-based approaches.
Source: https://www.ajmc.com/view/semaglutide-linked-to-lower-dementia-risk-in-type-2-diabetes