New study findings presented at the Society of NeuroInterventional Surgery’s (SNIS) 22nd Annual Meeting assessed whether glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists could lessen the impacts of stroke and related brain injuries or ultimately reduce the risk of stroke. If confirmed, treatment with common GLP-1s like semaglutide (Ozempic; Novo Nordisk) could aid the impacts of stroke and related brain injuries.1
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“More research is certainly needed, but seeing the potential protection offered by these medications is a fascinating finding,” said Ahmed Elbayomy, MD, a research fellow and data scientist in the Department of Neurological Surgery at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and primary author of 2 of these studies, in a news release.1
Overview of GLP-1s
GLP-1s are commonly used to help lower blood sugar levels and promote weight loss in individuals with type 2 diabetes and obesity. Commonly used GLP-1s that are FDA approved for weight management include semaglutide (Ozempic; Novo Nordisk), dulaglutide (Trulicity; Eli Lilly and Company), and tirzepatide (Mounjaro; Eli Lilly and Company), which is a GLP-1 and gastric inhibitory polypeptide (GIP) receptor agonist.2
GLP-1s Used for Stroke Risk
Study 1
In the first study, researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison included data from patients at the medical center at the university and a global health collaborative. Together, the researchers aimed to assess whether patients using semaglutide who experience strokes have better outcomes compared with individuals who are not treated with semaglutide.1
A total of 2,021,704 individuals who had strokes were included, with 43,338 of those individuals also on semaglutide from the global dataset. The University of Wisconsin medical center dataset included 13,510 individuals who presented strokes, with 190 of those individuals on semaglutide.1
The results demonstrated that in both study groups, death from stroke was lower among individuals who were treated with semaglutide. Specifically, in the global dataset, 5.26% of semaglutide users faced mortality from their strokes compared to 21.6% of individuals who were not treated with semaglutide. For the medical center database, 5.6% of semaglutide users died from strokes compared with 26.57% of non-users. Also from the global database, researchers noted that 77.5% of semaglutide users had a chance of surviving strokes long term compared to 30.95% of nonusers.1
Study 2
The second study was also from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, including a large nationwide sample of emergency department records from individuals who had strokes and individuals who were likely being treated with semaglutide. While full data was not explored, the study authors noted that they noticed a trend in a reduced odds of stroke among individuals who were potentially being treated with semaglutide. However, they noted that further research evaluating data directly from pharmacies to confirm semaglutide users would enhance the findings.1
Study 3
In the third study from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, researchers evaluated if GLP-1s could improve outcomes for individuals after brain hemorrhages and strokes. The research focused on both spontaneous bleeds and those due to brain aneurysm rupture. After reviewing patient records from 6 months and 12 months after each brain hemorrhage and 1 year and 2 years after each stroke, they found that the use of GLP-1s was linked to a reduced risk of cognitive adverse effects, seizures, future brain hemorrhages, and death.1
The findings suggest that GLP-1s could aid stroke prevention and reduce brain injury-related complications. However, further research is needed to confirm the findings.1
“This research could introduce a new perspective to the discussion of preventing and mitigating the devastating effects of stroke and related brain injuries,” Matias Costa, MD, from the neurosurgery department at the University of Texas Medical Branch and author of the third study, concluded in the news release.1