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Comment by benchtobedside | Hacker News Reader

TL;DR from the article: The study found that patients prescribed semaglutide had a significantly lower risk for Alzheimer’s disease than those who had taken one of the seven other diabetes drugs. The results were consistent across gender, age and weight.

The biggest difference was seen when comparing patients who took semaglutide to those who took insulin: Semaglutide patients had a 70% lower risk of Alzheimer’s, the study found.

Full link to the study itself: https://alz-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/alz...

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With the constant stream of positive news around GLP-1s, and ever-growing list of things they treat, we may all wind up on some dose with only the dose varying depending on what illness they're targeting.

My PCP agrees that the great results I'm getting on Fen-Phen mean I won't need to switch!

GLP-1 have already been on the mass market longer than Fen-Phen (7-years for Fen-Phen Vs. 15+ years, even just Semaglutide has been available longer than Fen-Phen now, and Semaglutide is a third-gen GLP-1).

Honestly, this retort can be made about any/all new drugs entering the market. If you had a legitimate retort/critique I'm sure you would have presented it, but this is all we get.

This is what happens when you start out with "[thing] is bad" then work backwards to figure out a reason.

Ultimately the main reason it's bad right now is it's expensive. Far beyond the amount needed to recoup research investment and far far far far far far far far far beyond what it takes to synthesize.

Low-end cost of $1000 a month is a lot. That's an expensive car lease, or half a cheap mortgage.

I fully agree. Least of all because it is sold at between $60-200 abroad full-priced. Those countries just have price controls; the pharmacies are still making 80%+ profit margins in those places.

Ultimately, a lot of people will literally die because of this greed. That isn't hyperbole.

These things are priced against their alternatives, and so are almost definitionally less expensive than the status quo ante.

Suddenly it's a national security issue.

Suddenly USGov issues emergency production licenses and orders domestically to drop that down to effectively $0.10/kilodose on the market.

Suddenly when Denmark (or whoever) whines, USGov sends a cumulative NATO military defense bill, tells them they are the reserve currency, they have bigger nukes, and tough shit next time don't pork barrel the American people.

Lots of options for Americans; question is, can we be unprincipled enough to take the steps neccessary? :^)

I mean it's literally as if people don't understand how drugs work, or what drugs actually do to human bodies.

It is as if those who do not remember the past are repeating it, already.

So many shills are singing the praises of this wonder drug.

  In India we're all the rave
  Discovered that it's great as aftershave, oh-ho
  Dropped in the sea just off Japan
  Swapped twenty bottles for an aqua-walkman, oh
  Immunity from ridicule
  Improves your brains if you're a fool, oh-ho
  And I read in the Middle East
  Traded some for a hostage release
  Now if you're bald it'll give you hair
  If you've got straight trousers it'll give you flares
  Feeling up you'll get depressed
  Out of style here's a brand new dress, oh
  It was really vile weather
  When we got tarred and feathered
  You could hear the six-guns sound
  As they chased us out of town

> With the constant stream of positive news around GLP-1s, and ever-growing list of things they treat, we may all wind up on some dose with only the dose varying depending on what illness they're targeting.

So far, I haven't seen much evidence that GLP-1s have a positive effect on people who aren't overweight. And while I'll be the first to admit that the proportion of people who could benefit from these drugs is quite large, it's pretty far from everyone.

> So far, I haven't seen much evidence that GLP-1s have a positive effect on people who aren't overweight.

It is licensed, tested, and sold as a Type-2 Diabetes medication. Are you claiming it is ineffective for that purpose? Or if you're under the impression that no healthy weight T2 Diabetics exist, I have some news for you...

It is also being studied for: opioid addiction, alcoholism, Alzheimer's/Parkinson’s, Cardiovascular Disease, NASH, and PCOS.

"So far, I haven't seen evidence" may be more related to what you have read than what is available for you to read.

Don't dismiss the most important question -- does semaglutide really have any effects outside its current intended use for diabetes and weight loss?

In other words, would a thin, metabolically healthy person benefit from taking semaglutide?

So far, all of the wonderful benefits from taking the drug seem to be explainable by reduced caloric intake / weight loss / better glucose control in overweight and/or diabetic people.

> In other words, would a thin, metabolically healthy person benefit from taking semaglutide?

That's what this thread is about; and multiple other studies looking at different diseases/illnesses/addictions. Time will tell. It is currently approved for T2 Diabetes and Obesity.

There's also the intriguing possibility that many other diseases and even addictions have a heretofore-unknown metabolic component. The idea of some addictions -- even to things like heroin or gambling -- being partially metabolic does not seem far-fetched to me.

Why would taking a drug you don't need for the rest of your days be a good thing?

what's the alternative?

Struggling with food, being extremely overweight the rest of your life, and not being able to play with your kids because of it?

Don't stuff your face with a 2500kcal Oreo and ice cream shake?

Hasn't there been speculation/study along the lines of Alzheimer's being a form of diabetes?

Yes. For example: "Is Alzheimer's disease a Type 3 Diabetes? A critical appraisal" https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S092544391...

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