Weight loss drug Ozempic is being trialled to treat conditions way beyond obesity, including Alzheimer's, Prof Luke O'Neill has said.
There are hundreds of clinical trials testing the drug to treat conditions such as Parkinson's disease and even addiction.
The drug semaglutide - known as Ozempic or Wegovy - was first put on the market to treat type 2 diabetes; however, it has also been widely used around the world as a weight loss treatment in recent years.
Professor of Biochemistry at Trinity College Dublin Luke O'Neill told The Pat Kenny Show the so-called ‘wonder drug’ is going even further.
"It turns out Ozempic does more than just treat obesity," he said.
"There's hundreds of trials running on all kinds of diseases where Ozempic might show benefits.
"We're talking about Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, addiction - even depression.
"So suddenly Ozempic is in the frame for treating many different diseases."
A person using Ozempic, 16-8-23, Image: fdcm / AlamyProf O'Neill said the drug is actually a man-made form of GLP-1 that our body already produces.
"Ozempic is actually a synthetic, man-made form of this," he said.
"You make it out for a meal and then it helps your pancreas release insulin and insulin helps you metabolise glucose and so on.
"But it's in the brain as well and it stops you craving food.
"If you take it as a drug now that seems to regulate your overall appetite for many things, not just food.
"So it's kind of a by-product of its effects on our on our diet and on our metabolism."
A box of diabetes medicine Ozempic in a pharmacy in November 2022. Image: ANP / AlamyProf O'Neill said alcoholism is also being tested with Ozempic.
"They're running trials at the moment... there's a special bar in America where people go in who are alcoholics, sadly, and they stay there for weeks," he said.
"They see if the Ozempic can stop them having cravings for alcohol, for example, and they can test it extremely carefully.
"Obviously, safety is a big concern and you've got to make sure it's safe as well as everything else.
"This is different to obesity but as we speak, this trial is running on alcoholics".
Opioid addiction is also being trialed with one study showing Ozempic "can decrease cravings by 40% for people who are addicted to opioids".
Parkinson's and Alzheimer's
Prof O'Neill explained how the drug might also be used to treat Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.
"They noticed an effect on kidney disease and that was an anti-inflammatory effect," he said.
"The kidneys were getting less inflamed in some people and that was separate to any effect on obesity.
"Next thing, then, there's a hint of things in Parkinson's - that will be dampening the inflammation in the brain.
"So this stuff Ozempic - or GLP 1, the natural form - seems to have anti-inflammatory properties in our bodies as well.
"In other words it's not just obesity, it's not just diabetes but now it's anti-inflammatory on top.
"There's so many inflammatory conditions, including Parkinson's, where this could show benefits."
Prof O'Neill said the trials are "showing promise" but more data is needed to back it up.
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