Ozempic may lower risk of memory problems, dementia, and nicotine dependence \ stacker news ~science

Ozempic may lower risk of memory problems, dementia, and nicotine dependence www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(24)00305-5/fulltext?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR2syH9h0B_d2OJux-szvcxBlBN6QmqMjAWcMGSgc08-neV6BCjbmCdUO-o_aem_IBVRvqz8Pb8Mc1DnWzKTIw

433 sats \ 23 comments \ @south_korea_ln 16 Jul science

Semaglutide (also known as Ozempic and Wegovy) does not negatively impact brain health and might even be helpful to lower the risk of memory problems, dementia, and nicotine dependence.

In this study, people (20,000 in each cohort) on semaglutide for Type 2 Diabetes were at a lower risk of cognitive deficit, dementia, and nicotine dependence than matched cohorts of people on other anti-diabetic drugs.

If confirmed in randomised controlled trials, these findings would have important implications for patients, service providers, and public health. They would be particularly welcomed in psychiatry as many people with mental illness also have diabetes and vice versa.

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229 sats \ 0 replies \ @south_korea_ln OP 16 Jul

I know one of the authors, let me know if you have any serious questions you'd like answered... about this study, or about pharmaceutical science in general.

125 sats \ 7 replies \ @fm 16 Jul

Semaglutide (also known as Ozempic and Wegovy) does not negatively impact brain health and might even be helpful to lower the risk of memory problems, dementia, and nicotine dependence.

At the cost of a rotten intestine and blindness

337 sats \ 6 replies \ @south_korea_ln OP 16 Jul

Well, that's all medication for you. It's always a matter of weighing the pros and cons. If you're diabetic, and have you to take some treatment, you might at least choose the one that will less affect your brain. Healthy people, on the other hand, would feel more cons than pros. Don't mess with your body unless you really need to.

63 sats \ 2 replies \ @fm 16 Jul

Thats a good point.. The trend nowadays is using semaglutide as weight loss drug.. And thats pretty absurd.. if you have a serious illness, then the picture changes

63 sats \ 1 reply \ @south_korea_ln OP 16 Jul

Yeah I'd never take it for weight loss...

13 sats \ 0 replies \ @gmd 16 Jul

probably a lot healthier than being fat

13 sats \ 2 replies \ @zapsammy 16 Jul

a few years ago an academic who recognized that we are in a spiritual war, told me to read:

"How to read a paper" by Trisha Greenhalgh

she explains very clearly how most papers are wrong.

26 sats \ 1 reply \ @fm 16 Jul

money corrupted science a long time ago.. ill try to find this

13 sats \ 0 replies \ @zapsammy 16 Jul

i now call it scientism : religious dogma masquerading as science

113 sats \ 2 replies \ @marks 16 Jul

"Because this study is observational, it cannot be demonstrated that the observed outcomes are adverse events of medications."

More from the study:

This study also has several limitations. As for all analyses of EHR, it is subject to under-coding/coding errors (including potential misdiagnosis) and unknown completeness of data (see also Appendix, pp 3–5).

We could not assess patients' medication adherence nor the duration of exposure as this information is not available in their records.

Because most individuals receiving semaglutide were matched to individuals taking a comparator drug but not vice versa, the hazard ratios reported in this paper should be seen as estimates of the average treatment effect on the treated, rather than the average treatment effect.

The observed associations might be partly mediated by better diabetes control as measured by HbA1c, but this was not tested here.

We could not differentiate between formulations (i.e., oral vs subcutaneous)4 and doses of semaglutide, as such information is not well recorded in the data.

Many of these are problems inherent with observational studies. I think it's fine that these studies are done because they can help drive the kinds of double-blind, controlled patient research to test specific hypotheses. We need to do a better job as a society educating people to understand when a headline is from an observational study and that it shouldn't carry as much weight.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @south_korea_ln OP 16 Jul

Good to highlight indeed. I didn't know this nuance. It's reassuring they emphasize it themselves in the paper too.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Bell_curve 16 Jul

Good catch!

13 sats \ 8 replies \ @mrsu 17 Jul

You can get similar results to ozempic on a very low carbohydrate carnivore diet. Diabetics would probably do better eating natural food than taking risky medicines.

0 sats \ 4 replies \ @Bell_curve 17 Jul

I asked a friend who is diabetic. He said diabetics need to avoid junk food and eat vegetables

Nothing gimmicky

13 sats \ 3 replies \ @mrsu 17 Jul

Whats "gimmicky" about a low carbohydrate animal based diet?

0 sats \ 2 replies \ @Bell_curve 17 Jul

nothing

The gimmick is risky medicines

13 sats \ 1 reply \ @mrsu 17 Jul

Ahh right, my bad.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Bell_curve 17 Jul

I should have been more clear

My friend said a diabetic diet is no different from a 'healthy' diet for people in general.

0 sats \ 2 replies \ @south_korea_ln OP 17 Jul

Any non-anecdotical evidence to back this up about the carnivore diet yielding similar results as ozempic? Not being facetious, just curious.

13 sats \ 1 reply \ @mrsu 17 Jul

Not that I'm aware of on that specific point. I have searched the literature, but most nutritional research on that topic just demonizes red meat with low quality observational studies (they usually advocate high carb plant based diets).

My only "real" evidence is personal and anecdotal. I lost 15kg in three months on a fatty red meat only diet. I eat 2 times per day, I don't feel hungry between meals. My mental function improved significantly, I sleep much better, and stopped snoring. I was pre-diabetic, and my blood sugar would take a long time to come down after meals (now normal). I managed to cut my serious alcohol addiction (of 15 years). There are many thousands of others with the same story.

There are doctors and academics in the space that have noticed this and are hearing the anecdotes, and they are in the process of conducting clinical research. I'm on my phone right now, so its a pain to pull up the details , but I will post some links later if I remember.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @south_korea_ln OP 17 Jul

Eagerly awaiting such studies. Diet science has a very flawed history of strong convictions that turned out wrong. Like the demonisation of fat in my childhood while feeding kids pure sugar for energy... We've come a long way since. Good thing that, overall, science is self correcting in the long run.

13 sats \ 0 replies \ @zapsammy 16 Jul

#604976

13 sats \ 0 replies \ @marks 16 Jul

Questions:

What kind of nutritional intake lifestyle were these patients following or is that not known?
Was it the change in eating habits driven by semaglutide that caused the favorable outcomes, meaning patients could achieve the results on their own without need of a pharmaceutical help?