2025 American Academy of Neurology Abstract Website

Patricio Castro Suarez¹, Claudia Cruzalegui Bazán¹, Kevin Capra Sanabria¹, Lucero del Pilar Peltroche Ramos¹, Carlos Rodrigo Vicuña²
¹Sociedad Científica de San Fernando, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima, Peru, ²Grupo de Investigación Neurociencias, Metabolismo, Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria (NEMECS), Universidad Científica del Sur, Lima, Perú

Objective:

To conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to consolidate the evidence related to the association between Glucagon-peptide 1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists and the risk of dementia.

Background:

GLP-1 receptor agonists, increasingly used to manage type 2 diabetes mellitus and more recently, for weight loss, have shown potential neuroprotective effects in vitro and in vivo. Recent studies suggest that these medications may positively impact cognitive health and reduce the risk of dementia.

Design/Methods:

A systematic search was conducted in PubMed, Embase, Web of Science and Scopus until September 2024. The risk of bias was assessed with the NewCastle-Ottawa tool. A meta-analysis using a random-effects model to estimate pooled effects was planned for each outcome and a narrative synthesis when this was not possible. To assess the certainty of the evidence, we used GRADE criteria.

Results:

Eight out of 620 articles were included, all of them but one had low risk of bias. With low certainty, users of GLP-1 receptor agonists showed lower risk of dementia compared to non-GLP-1 users (HR: 0.67; 95%CI: 0.46 - 0.97; I2=91%). These findings remained constant when comparing with users of DPP4 inhibitors (HR: 0.64; 95%CI: 0.44 - 0.94; I2=85%) and sulfonylureas (HR: 0.68; 95%CI: 0.60 - 0.77; I2=0%).

Conclusions:

With low certainty, GLP-1 receptor agonists users seem to be less likely to develop dementia across their lifespan. However, more prospective studies comparing these drugs with other antidiabetics are needed in order to obtain a complete insight.