Diabetes drug similar to Ozempic helped slow progression of Parkinson’s disease in small trial

[Sydney75]

cnbc.com/2024/04/04/drug-si...

And they are no longer manufacturing this older drug as it would be a "cheap" drug. It will be repurposed and cost $$$. I know I am being cynical.

Sanofi pulled lixisenatide from the market at the beginning of 2023. The French drugmaker has said the discontinuation of the treatment was a business decision that was unrelated to its safety and efficacy.

Sanofi provided the drug to the researchers and advised them on the characteristics of the medication, but otherwise was not involved in the new phase two trial, which was funded by the French Ministry for Health and Prevention and a U.K. charity called Cure Parkinson’s.

-Syd

[Esperanto]

The financial stakes are enormous. In addition to combating diabetes and obesity, semaglutide has many other beneficial effects, including on stroke, heart failure, kidney disease, arteriosclerosis, liver diseases, addiction, dementia, Alzheimer’s, and now even PD. It seems like a miracle drug, this "new" medication for diabetes, semaglutide, which is primarily known in Europe under the brand name Ozempic.

The big question is: is this beneficial effect on these conditions due to the drug itself, or is it because participants lose significant amounts of weight? This is still unclear. After all, obesity is a well-known risk factor for these diseases, including PD.

However, GLP-1 medications appear to do more in the brain than just suppress appetite. In mice with brain injuries, strokes, or neurodegeneration, these medications reduce the inflammatory response and the degeneration of brain cells. They also improve the function of brain cells and memory. So very interesting for researchers studying dementia or PD. There are even early indications that these medications may counteract the buildup of the beta-amyloid protein, which is often seen in Alzheimer’s disease. Therefore, there is intense research into whether these medications can slow down Alzheimer’s or PD. The results have been mixed, but this latest research is quite positive.