The study relied on medical records from more than 100,000 US patients. Getty Images
The study relied on medical records from more than 100,000 US patients. Getty Images
The study relied on medical records from more than 100,000 US patients. Getty Images
The study relied on medical records from more than 100,000 US patients. Getty Images

Ozempic could cut risk of dementia in half, Oxford study finds


Gillian Duncan
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Weight loss drug Ozempic could cut the risk of developing dementia in half and protect against other mental problems, according to a new study.

People suffering from type 2 diabetes face an increased risk of dementia.

But after a year on the drug patients were found to have a 48 per cent lower risk of the disease, compared to those who had taken an older drug called sitagliptin.

They also had a lower risk of cognitive deficits compared with those who had been on either sitagliptin or glipizide, another older medicine.

The University of Oxford study suggests Ozempic may also be protective against addiction, after those taking it were found to have a 28 per cent lower risk of smoking than those who had been taking glipizide, researchers in The Lancet’s eClinicalMedicine journal said.

It is the latest in a series of trials to show potential benefits beyond diabetes control and weight loss for semaglutide, the main ingredient in both Novo’s Ozempic and its obesity medicine Wegovy.

Most of the other benefits – to the heart, kidneys and arthritic knees – are linked to weight loss, but scientists are also studying whether the medicine can help treat alcoholism by reducing the urge to drink.

The trial did not randomly assign patients to take Ozempic or other drugs.

Instead, it relied on medical records from more than 100,000 US patients, and researchers used statistical methods to ensure they were making the most accurate comparisons possible.

A study from Denmark came to a similar conclusion after following people with type 2 diabetes for five years, finding those on semaglutide or liraglutide had a lower incidence of dementia.

Semaglutide, the ingredient in Ozempic, acts as an insulin regulator, helping the pancreas release insulin. Reuters/file
Semaglutide, the ingredient in Ozempic, acts as an insulin regulator, helping the pancreas release insulin. Reuters/file

More research will be needed “to find out for certain if semaglutide does have benefits to reduce cognitive dysfunction or affect smoking rates in people with diabetes,” John Wilding, a professor of medicine at the University of Liverpool who reviewed the study independently, said in a comment distributed by the non-profit Science Media Centre.

Two clinical trials, which began in 2021, are testing whether semaglutide slows the progress of the disease in people with early stage Alzheimer’s. They are due to finish in 2026.

Semaglutide, the ingredient in Ozempic, acts as an insulin regulator, helping the pancreas to release the correct amount of insulin when blood sugar levels are high.

But there are no known receptors for semaglutide in the region of the brain responsible for memory, so it is not fully understood how the drug could treat dementia.

Writing in The Conversation, two Oxford academics said its effect on neuroinflammation could be key.

Semaglutide is believed to be anti-inflammatory and neuroinflammation damages the blood-brain barrier, they said, which is disrupted in both Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia.

UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

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Closing the loophole on sugary drinks

As The National reported last year, non-fizzy sugared drinks were not covered when the original tax was introduced in 2017. Sports drinks sold in supermarkets were found to contain, on average, 20 grams of sugar per 500ml bottle.

The non-fizzy drink AriZona Iced Tea contains 65 grams of sugar – about 16 teaspoons – per 680ml can. The average can costs about Dh6, which would rise to Dh9.

Drinks such as Starbucks Bottled Mocha Frappuccino contain 31g of sugar in 270ml, while Nescafe Mocha in a can contains 15.6g of sugar in a 240ml can.

Flavoured water, long-life fruit juice concentrates, pre-packaged sweetened coffee drinks fall under the ‘sweetened drink’ category
 

Not taxed:

Freshly squeezed fruit juices, ground coffee beans, tea leaves and pre-prepared flavoured milkshakes do not come under the ‘sweetened drink’ band.

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How has net migration to UK changed?

The figure was broadly flat immediately before the Covid-19 pandemic, standing at 216,000 in the year to June 2018 and 224,000 in the year to June 2019.

It then dropped to an estimated 111,000 in the year to June 2020 when restrictions introduced during the pandemic limited travel and movement.

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The latest available figure of 728,000 for the 12 months to June 2024 suggests levels are starting to decrease.

Brief scores:

Day 1

Toss: India, chose to bat

India (1st innings): 215-2 (89 ov)

Agarwal 76, Pujara 68 not out; Cummins 2-40

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Chatham House Rule

A mark of Chatham House’s influence 100 years on since its founding,  was Moscow’s formal declaration last month that it was an “undesirable
organisation”. 

 

The depth of knowledge and academics that it drew on
following the Ukraine invasion had broadcast Mr Putin’s chicanery.  

 

The institute is more used to accommodating world leaders,
with Nelson Mandela, Margaret Thatcher among those helping it provide
authoritative commentary on world events. 

 

Chatham House was formally founded as the Royal Institute of
International Affairs following the peace conferences of World War One. Its
founder, Lionel Curtis, wanted a more scientific examination of international affairs
with a transparent exchange of information and ideas.  

 

That arena of debate and analysis was enhanced by the “Chatham
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These meetings are highly valued, so much so that
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Its research and debate has offered fresh ideas to
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Updated: July 15, 2024, 9:15 AM