A weight-loss drug may help slow the loss of brain volume in people with Alzheimer’s disease, according to a small study.
Liraglutide, which can also be prescribed for diabetes, is usually taken as an injection once a day.
Trial results published at the Alzheimer’s Association’s international conference in the US suggest that the drug, also known as Saxenda, may slow the decline in memory and thinking in people with the disease.
The number of people living with dementia worldwide is expected to nearly triple to 153 million by 2050, and experts say it poses a rapidly growing threat to future health and social care systems.
“This research provides hope that more options to alter the course of the disease are on the horizon,” said Alzheimer’s Association Chief Scientific Officer Dr Maria Carrillo. “We are in an era of unprecedented promise, with new treatments in various stages of development that may slow or potentially prevent cognitive decline due to Alzheimer’s disease.”
The trial studied 204 patients in the United Kingdom. Half received liraglutide, made by Novo Nordisk, and the other half a placebo.
The study did not meet its primary endpoint, or main objective, which was change in the cerebral glucose metabolic rate, an assessment of brain function.
It did meet the secondary endpoints. The drug appeared to shrink the parts of the brain that control memory, learning, language and decision-making by nearly 50% compared to the placebo.
Researchers led by experts from Imperial College London said that after 12 months of treatment, the drug appeared to reduce cognitive decline in participants by as much as 18%.
Tests examining memory, comprehension, language and spatial orientation revealed that those who took the drug had a “statistically significant slowing of cognitive decline” after a year compared to those who took the placebo had means.
Experts said much larger studies are needed to confirm the findings.
Study leader Paul Edison, a professor of science at Imperial College London, said: “The slower loss of brain volume suggests that liraglutide protects the brain in the same way that statins protect the heart.
“While further research is needed, liraglutide may work through several mechanisms, such as reducing inflammation in the brain, lowering insulin resistance and the toxic effects of Alzheimer’s biomarkers amyloid-beta and tau, and improving how the brain’s nerve cells communicate.”
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Dr Sheona Scales, the director of research at Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: “Being able to repurpose drugs already licensed for other health conditions could help speed up progress and open up new avenues to treat dementia-causing diseases such as Alzheimer’s, prevent or treat.
“This new research shows that people with early-stage Alzheimer’s taking liraglutide had a slower decline in memory and thinking, and less brain shrinkage, over 12 months, compared to placebo.
“However, the study was carried out in a small group of people. Larger trials are now taking place to see if drugs such as liraglutide are effective in slowing the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.”
The trial was not sponsored by Novo Nordisk. However, the company is testing another of its weight-loss drugs, semaglutide – sold as the diabetes drug Ozempic and the obesity drug Wegovy – in thousands of patients with early Alzheimer’s.
Its two trials began in 2021 and results are expected in 2025.
