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Semaglutide linked to lower predicted dementia risk

alz-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

171–180 of 430 posts

Re: Semaglutide linked to lower predicted dementia risk

#171

tdlr: This is a Novo Nordisk-funded study focusing on predictive biomarkers rather than real-world dementia cases. Novo Nordisk's actual dedicated clinical trials for Alzheimer's completely failed to show that semaglutide stops cognitive decline. "A predictive biomarker is like a "check engine" light on your dashboard. It warns you that there is a risk of a future problem. In this study, the researchers only checked…

Which sort of affirms the mantra, "If you can't prove causation, try to prove correlation." This because you can market correlation to unsophisticated readers and imply causation.

> Which sort of affirms the mantra, "If you can't prove causation, try to prove correlation."

There’s already tons of correlation published for semaglutide lowering rates of dementia. This study is an effort at helping find the mechanism beyond the generally also known correlation that losing weight lowers rates of dementia.

Re: Semaglutide linked to lower predicted dementia risk

#172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

All my immediate family members are obese. I'm not (BMI 24.5, borderline overweight at the high end of normal, highest lifetime BMI was 29.5), but that's through strenuous, exhausting effort over decades. I also exercise regularly, though I've learned over time how disconnected exercise is from weight management. At my weight, I'm not a candidate for going on a GLP-1. I'm sure I could find an unethical doctor to pres…

Speaking as someone who had the same kind of reservations, I think you sound exactly like me, and if I had any advice to my past self, it would be "get on it as early as it's available, start much lower than anyone thinks is sane, and never ever stop". I got a concierge doctor who absolutely evaluates what I ask for skeptically, and pay for my GLP medications out of pocket, so I feel ethically totally comfortable wit…

What downsides have you experienced?

Re: Semaglutide linked to lower predicted dementia risk

#173

I'm a big semaglutide proponent after being on it for a year. I know research says it helps with inflammation, arthritis (separately from weight reduction), and all sorts of magical things. I lost 40 pounds in a year(230 to 190) at age 50. Great! I also went from being active and fat(weightlifting with some cardio) to basically having no energy. In the last year I've had arthritis appear in several joints. I'm awake…

I'm younger than you and only loss a about 25 lbs. I've now gone to a maintenance dose and seen my energy recover substantially, I do still think (anecdotally) that when I got off for a week I got even more energy but it's hard to judge.

I also had low energy but that was really mostly when I was losing weight, which made sense. As I slowed weight loss and reduced dose, energy improved.

Re: Semaglutide linked to lower predicted dementia risk

#174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The medical establishment and big pharma simple ignores the fact that the biggest health risk for a human being is the "modern" high sugar diet The medical establishment isn’t ignoring this at all. They’ve been pushing for healthier diets forever. Primary doctors have always been pushing for healthy eating. That doesn’t mean patients welcome the advice or follow it. Everyone knows that eating high sugar diets and b…

There was a fringe that said being overweight was not unhealthy, but the more salient points were the following: 1. BMI was basically just pulled out of a hat, and it turns out that for many health concerns, the overweight class does better than the normal weight class, with the actual “clearly worse” outcomes really coming up as you trend into obesity. 2. Environmental and genetic factors are huge contributors to pe…

To your point 4, we have lots of good reasons why people are gaining weight: they eat more. It's not exactly rocket science.

Obvious reasons include:

a) food is very cheap, especially processed food

b) portion sizes are comically large in the US

c) ubiquity of snacking and eating on the go, which is mostly high calorie

d) few people smoke now, and cigarettes are potent appetite suppressants

e) less social disapproval of being fat. To fair degree, being overweight is contagious

I agree completely with your last paragraph, at a society level. At an individual level, though, it's all on us to exercise self control for ourselves. Just most people don't want to.

Re: Semaglutide linked to lower predicted dementia risk

#175

tdlr: This is a Novo Nordisk-funded study focusing on predictive biomarkers rather than real-world dementia cases. Novo Nordisk's actual dedicated clinical trials for Alzheimer's completely failed to show that semaglutide stops cognitive decline. "A predictive biomarker is like a "check engine" light on your dashboard. It warns you that there is a risk of a future problem. In this study, the researchers only checked…

Not only that but high intakes of added sugars and fast-acting, high-glycemic carbohydrates are linked to an increased risk of cognitive decline and dementia. Excess simple sugars, particularly fructose and sucrose, promote insulin resistance, chronic inflammation, and vascular damage that impair brain function and accelerate neurodegeneration. So with other words, you diet is a major contributing factor here. The me…

Guess what category of drug reduces the intake of large amounts of sugar?

Re: Semaglutide linked to lower predicted dementia risk

#177

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Didn't even bother looking into it because there's obviously not enough data yet to say anything substantial about GLP-1s and Alzheimers. But your comment should probably be the top.

GLP-1s have been used for over 20 years. There likely is enough data to say something , even if it's not water tight.

They've been used for over 20 years but until they became a weight loss drug recently, almost all of the research was on diabetics which introduces two confounding factors: diabetes and the diets diabetics already have to follow to manage the disease. It's hard to draw any conclusions when the results are muddied by those two factors.

Re: Semaglutide linked to lower predicted dementia risk

#178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We're too soft on companies, but equally too hard on people who have a food addiction.

[flagged]

It's really not hard to not drink. It's really not hard to not do heroin. It's really not hard to...

Re: Semaglutide linked to lower predicted dementia risk

#179

tdlr: This is a Novo Nordisk-funded study focusing on predictive biomarkers rather than real-world dementia cases. Novo Nordisk's actual dedicated clinical trials for Alzheimer's completely failed to show that semaglutide stops cognitive decline. "A predictive biomarker is like a "check engine" light on your dashboard. It warns you that there is a risk of a future problem. In this study, the researchers only checked…

Didn't even bother looking into it because there's obviously not enough data yet to say anything substantial about GLP-1s and Alzheimers. But your comment should probably be the top.

Cognitive Decline != Alzheimer's. There are other forms of cognitive decline in aging.

Re: Semaglutide linked to lower predicted dementia risk

#180

tdlr: This is a Novo Nordisk-funded study focusing on predictive biomarkers rather than real-world dementia cases. Novo Nordisk's actual dedicated clinical trials for Alzheimer's completely failed to show that semaglutide stops cognitive decline. "A predictive biomarker is like a "check engine" light on your dashboard. It warns you that there is a risk of a future problem. In this study, the researchers only checked…

> This is a Novo Nordisk-funded study focusing on predictive biomarkers rather than real-world dementia cases You act like all this is hidden, but the title of the article and the list of authors makes this self-evident. > Novo Nordisk's actual dedicated clinical trials for Alzheimer's completely failed to show that semaglutide stops cognitive decline Sure, but the EVOKE studies were focused on something that could b…

It wasn't even funded in the way funding a study usually means. That an entity handed over money to a research group. The study was done by employers in their work time for their salary. Its a Novo Nordisk study, and as you say its right there in the open. Pointing an llm against the paper to (wrongly) realize this is a real tragedy of literacy.
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