Trials have already shown that Novo Nordisk’s semaglutide can cut the risk of cardiovascular events and kidney disease. Now a study from the University of Oxford indicates that the company’s semaglutide type 2 diabetes drug Ozempic can reduce the risk of dementia compared with another popular diabetes medicine.
The research—which was designed to demonstrate if Ozempic could cause neurologic problems—showed instead that it produced a 48% decline in dementia when compared to Merck’s type 2 diabetes drug Januvia (sitagliptin).
The Oxford study also showed that Ozempic provided a 28% reduction in “nicotine misuse” when compared to Januvia and Pfizer’s older type 2 diabetes drug Glucotrol (glipizide).
The study, which was published this week in the Lancet’s eClinicalMedicine journal, used electronic health records from TriNetX covering more than 100,000 patients from the start of 2017 to May of 2021. Researchers compared semaglutide to three other type 2 diabetes treatments, including Eli Lilly and Boehringer Ingelheim’s Jardiance (empagliflozin).
The research team compared the risks of 22 neurological and psychiatric outcomes within one year of treatment on the various diabetes drugs.
Prior studies have determined that diabetics have a greater risk of developing dementia. Those with type 2 diabetes are at an elevated risk for Alzheimer's, according (PDF) to studies cited by the Alzheimer's Association.
The results add to the growing list of benefits provided by GLP-1 treatments, which also are being studied for their potential to help curb alcohol addiction. Still, the findings don't carry the same weight as they would if they were from a placebo-controlled trial, which would allow Novo and others to definitively state whether the drug can cut dementia risks among a specific group of patients.
Meanwhile, Novo Nordisk is conducting two phase 3 studies—EVOKE and EVOKE+—investigating semaglutide in 1,800 patients with early Alzheimer’s disease. Novo expects results from the studies to read out in 2026.
Elsewhere, Lilly’s GLP-1/GIP therapy tirzepatide—which is the compound used to manufacture its type 2 diabetes drug Mounjaro and obesity treatment Zepbound—was recently shown to lower blood pressure. Researchers are still studying whether many of these benefits accrue from the treatment or from the weight loss they provide.