Glucagon-like peptide-1 class drugs show clear protective effects in Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease clinical trials: a revolution in the making?

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a complex syndrome for which there is no disease-modifying treatment on the market. However, a group of drugs from the Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) class have shown impressive improvements in clinical phase II trials. Exendin-4 (Bydureon), Liraglutide (Victoza, Saxenda) and Lixisenatide (Adlyxin), drugs that are on the market as treatments for diabetes, have shown clear effects in improving motor activity in patients with PD in phase II clinical trials. In addition, Liraglutide has shown improvement in cognition and brain shrinkage in a phase II trial in patients with Alzheimer disease (AD). Two phase III trials testing the GLP-1 drug semaglutide (Wegovy, Ozempic, Rybelsus) are ongoing. This perspective article will summarize the clinical results obtained so far in this novel research area. We are at a crossroads where GLP-1 class drugs are emerging as a new treatment strategy for PD and for AD. Newer drugs that have been designed to enter the brain easier are being developed already show improved effects in preclinical studies compared with the older GLP-1 class drugs that had been developed to treat diabetes. The future looks bright for new treatments for AD and PD.