--- title: "Patients Taking Ozempic Are Up to 70 Percent Less Likely to Develop Alzheimer’s, Research Finds" description: "The active ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy has once again proven to have health effects outside of weight loss." date: "2024-10-26" modified: "2024-10-26" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/ozempic-lowered-alzheimers-risk" categories: - "Health & Medicine" - "Medical" - "RX and Medicine" tags: - "Alzheimer's" - "ozempic" - "semaglutide" - "wegovy" --- # Patients Taking Ozempic Are Up to 70 Percent Less Likely to Develop Alzheimer’s, Research Finds ![The active ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy has once again proven to have health effects outside of weight loss.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* The active ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy has once again [proven to have health effects]() far outside of weight loss in a huge analysis linking it to lowered Alzheimer's disease risk. Looking at more than a million patient records, [researchers at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine discovered]() that diabetic seniors on semaglutide were far less likely to develop Alzheimer's than their counterparts who took other diabetes medications. This effect was most stark when comparing semaglutide to the old-school diabetes injectable insulin, with patients on semaglutide showing a whopping 70 percent lowered risk of Alzheimer's. In the study, [published in the journal *Alzheimer's and Dementia*](), the Case Western researchers led by biomedical informatics expert Rong Xu used medical records from patients over the age of 60 with Type 2 diabetes to run a randomized statistical analysis that mimics a clinical trial. Specifically, the CWR team looked at three years of healthcare data for folks who had just begun taking diabetes drugs like insulin, Ozempic, and the GLP-1 drug liraglutide that's sold under the brand name Victoza. Their goal: to see how well they fared over time, and to see if there were links to be drawn between their diabetes medications and their cognitive health outcomes. In an [interview with *NBC*]() about the findings, Xu said she was surprised that semaglutide outperformed even liraglutide, which has also been [linked to slowed Alzheimer's progression]() in a different recent study. All the participants in the study had notably been prescribed Ozempic, which tops out at two milligrams per weekly injection, while its weight loss sister drug Wegovy can be prescribed at the slightly higher dose of 2.4 mg. "If there is a higher dose form, are we going to see an even stronger effect?" Xu mused. As the study's introduction notes, there haven't yet been clinical trials completed looking specifically into whether semaglutide can have a protective effect when it comes to Alzheimer's disease — though Novo Nordisk, the makers of Ozempic and Wegovy, is currently conducting Stage 3 trials into that very subject. "Our results indicate that further research into semaglutide's use will need to be further investigated through randomized clinical trials," [Xu said in the school's press release](), "so alternative drugs can be tested as potential treatment for this debilitating illness." From [potentially preventing Alzheimer's]() to [lowering the urge to drink and smoke](), these drugs are proving time and again to be massive pharmaceutical game-changers — although the exact mechanism of why, as always, remains strikingly elusive. **More on GLP-1s:** [*Ozempic Could Be Used to Treat Alcohol and Drug Addiction, Study Finds*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()