Ozempic could help boost brain health and help people quit cigarettes

Ozempic could help boost brain health and help people quit cigarettes

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'Miracle' weight loss jabs could help boost brain health and even reduce people's dependence on nicotine, research suggests.

Semaglutide — the active ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy — has been hailed as a monumental breakthrough in the war on obesity.

Now, according to British experts, the injections could also lower the risk of cognitive decline, substance misuse and even encephalitis, compared to other diabetic medication.

Researchers didn't speculate why the drugs, which belong to class of medications called GLP-1 agonists, may help in this way.

Instead, they labelled the findings 'significant' and said it could pave the way for new treatments but cautioned further research was necessary.

Dr Riccardo De Giorgi, an expert in adult psychiatry at the University of Oxford and study lead author, said: 'Our results suggest that semaglutide use could extend beyond managing diabetes, potentially offering unexpected benefits in the treatment and prevention of cognitive decline and substance misuse.

'The findings of our study therefore not only help reassure the millions of patients relying on semaglutide for diabetes management, but, if confirmed, might also have significant implications for public health in terms of reducing cognitive deficit and smoking rates among patients with diabetes.'

Study co-author and expert in the treatment of psychiatric disorders at the University of Oxford, Dr Max Taquet, added: 'Our study is observational and these results should therefore be replicated in a randomised controlled trial to confirm and extend our findings.

'Nevertheless, they are good news for patients with psychiatric disorders, who are at an increased risk of diabetes.'

In the study, researchers tracked more than 120,000 Americans with type 2 diabetes between 2017 and 2021.

Over a follow-up of a year they compared the risks of 22 neurological and psychiatric conditions among patients on semaglutide against those taking the type 2 diabetes medication sitagliptin.

A second cohort of semaglutide users was analysed against empagliflozin and a third against glipizide. Both are also type 2 diabetes medications.

The 22 conditions assessed include encephalitis, Parkinson's, cognitive deficit, dementia, epilepsy, migraines, insomnia, nerve disorders, muscle disease and intracranial haemorrhage.

Ischaemic strokes, alcohol misuse, opioid misuse, cannabis misuse, stimulants misuse, nicotine misuse, psychosis, bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and suicidality, are among the others.

Writing in the journal, eClinical Medicine, scientists said: 'Semaglutide was not associated with an increased risk of neurological and psychiatric outcomes.

'Instead, after multiple-testing correction, semaglutide was associated with reduced risk for several such outcomes.'

The biggest reduction in risk was seen in encephalitis, with patients on semaglutide having a 74 per cent less chance of developing the condition than those on glipizide and 65 per cent less than sitagliptin patients.

Semaglutide users also had a 28 per cent less chance of experiencing cognitive decline than those on sitagliptin and glipizide.

Other big reductions were seen in dementia, with a 48 per cent less chance compared to sitagliptin and 37 per cent to glipizide.

Nicotine misuse stood at a 28 per cent less chance against glipizide and 23 per cent against empagliflozin.

Researchers, however, acknowledged the study had 'several limitations' including not controlling for variables such as whether patient's adhered to regularly taking their medication.

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

The jabs have been shown to help users lose up to 33lbs (15.3kg) on average over 68 weeks.

They work by tricking the brain into thinking it's full, consequently slashing appetite, and helping people lose weight as a result.

Semaglutide has been available on the NHS since 2019, and in the US since 2017, for type 2 diabetics tomanage blood sugar levels.

Another semaglutide drug was also approved in Britain for weight loss in 2022, and in the US in 2021, under the brand Wegovy.

Like any medication, semaglutide can cause side effects that vary in both frequency and severity. Reported problems include nausea, constipation, diarrhoea, fatigue, stomach pain, headaches and dizziness.

Bizarre symptoms, such as hair loss, have also been reported among some patients.

Latest NHS data shows 26 per cent of adults in England are obese and a further 38 per cent are overweight but not obese. In the US an estimated 41.9 per cent of adult population are obese.

Despite the hormone mimicking jabs being designed to help overweight patients become healthier, there have also been growing concerns about the number of normal weight and underweight patients taking them for cosmetic reasons.

Some have even needed A&E care after taking jabs in a bid to become'beach body ready'.