Restoring Health: Diabetes Drug Ozempic May Reduce Risk of Dementia, Nicotine Use

In peace! Novo Nordisk’s blockbuster diabetes drug Ozempic may have more to offer than controlling blood sugar and promoting weight loss.

According to a new study from the University of Oxford published last week, it found that Ozempic can reduce the risk of dementia and other cognitive problems compared to other treatments available for patients with Alzheimer’s disease. sugar. In addition, the researchers found that Ozempic reduced nicotine dependence in those patients.

Those findings add to a growing list of health benefits for Ozempic and other well-known GLP-1 therapies, such as Novo Nordisk’s weight-loss vaccine Wegovy and drug from rival Eli Lilly.

Large clinical trials have shown that semaglutide, the active ingredient of Ozempic and Wegovy, can reduce the risk of serious heart problems and kidney disease. Other studies are testing GLP-1s in patients with obstructive sleep apnea and fatty liver disease, among other conditions, and are testing whether the drug can block the behavior. promiscuity such as alcohol use and even gambling.

Now, let’s dive into the data from the new analysis, published in the Lancet’s eClinicalMedicine journal on Thursday.

The study was based on medical records from more than 100,000 diabetes patients in the US, including more than 20,000 who were prescribed semaglutide between December 2017 and May 2021.

The researchers compared semaglutide with three other diabetes treatments: Merck’s Januvia, or sitagliptin; Pfizer’s Glucotrol, or glipizide; and Eli Lilly and Boehringer Ingelheim’s Jardiance, or empagliflozin. They compared the risks of 22 neurological and psychological outcomes during one year of treatment with different diabetes medications.

Overall, Ozempic was associated with a lower risk of mental disorders and nicotine dependence, according to the researchers.

After a year, patients taking Ozempic had a 48% lower risk of developing dementia than those taking Januvia. The risk in Ozempic patients was also 37% lower than in those taking Glucotrol and 9% lower than in Jardiance.

Clearly, previous research has found that diabetics are at a higher risk of developing dementia.

Patients who took Ozempic also saw an 18% reduction in nicotine dependence compared to Januvia. Nicotine dependence was also reduced by 28% in Ozempic patients compared to those using Glucotrol and 23% less in Jardiance.

«Our results suggest that the use of semaglutide may extend beyond the control of diabetes, which may provide unexpected benefits for the treatment and prevention of cognitive decline and the use of bad drug,» Dr. Riccardo De Giorgi, a medical lecturer at the University of Oxford and lead author of the study, said in a statement.

However, the authors emphasize that the analysis is observational. The results need to be replicated in a controlled trial that randomly assigns patients to take Ozempic and other drugs, according to Dr. Max Taquet, an Oxford clinical lecturer and senior academic author.

We will continue to monitor future research in this area, so stay tuned.

Feel free to send tips, suggestions, story ideas and information to Annika at [email protected].

The health care giant reported second-quarter results on Tuesday that beat analysts’ estimates above and below, but increased its forecast for the expected impact of each segment of the Health Care Revolution. The beauty of a cyberattack.

UnitedHealth reported revenue of $98.86 billion for the quarter, slightly short of the $98.84 billion expected by analysts, according to LSEG. The company’s adjusted earnings per share for the period came in at $6.80, compared to Wall Street’s consensus estimate of $6.66.

UnitedHealth affirmed its adjusted earnings outlook of $27.50 to $28 for the full year; however, it disclosed the estimated impact of the business interruption of 60 to 70 cents per share, up from the 30 to 40 cents per share it provided in the previous quarter. UnitedHealth said the impacts of the business interruption include lost revenue and «the cost of maintaining full readiness» for Change Healthcare’s affected services.

Shares of UnitedHealth were up nearly 3% Tuesday morning.

Change Healthcare, a subsidiary of UnitedHealth, provides billing and revenue cycle management tools. It processes more than 15 billion charges annually, and 1 in 3 patient records go through its systems, according to its website.

In January, UnitedHealth discovered that a cyber threat actor had breached part of Change Healthcare’s information technology network. The company isolated and disconnected the affected systems «as soon as it became aware» of the threat, according to a request from the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

The disruption caused a major collapse in the US health care system, as many doctors were temporarily left without a way to fill prescriptions or get paid for their services. Some donors took thousands of dollars out of their own funds to stay in business.

In May, UnitedHealth CEO Andrew Witty revealed that the company paid a $22 million ransom to hackers in order to prevent them from publishing patient health information. He estimated that crime could affect about a third of all Americans.

UnitedHealth said Tuesday that it has returned «the majority» of Change Healthcare’s services, according to an earnings release. The company said it has also given more than $9 billion in upgrades to donors in need, the release said.

Read UnitedHealth’s full earnings report here.

Feel free to send tips, suggestions, story ideas and information to Ashley at [email protected].