Major breakthrough! GLP-1 can slow down the progression of Parkinson's disease, is the "miracle weight-loss drug" really omnipotent?

Unexpectedly, the drug originally used to treat diabetes also has a certain therapeutic effect on Parkinson's disease!

Recently, a study jointly published by Professor Olivier Rascol from Toulouse University Hospital and Professor Wassilios Meissner from Bordeaux University Hospital in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that the diabetes drug lixisenatide effectively stabilized the symptoms of Parkinson's disease patients in a one-year trial. This is good news for the medical community and the approximately 10 million Parkinson's patients worldwide.

The research team led by Rascol emphasized: "If the trial data is confirmed, the quality of life of Parkinson's patients will significantly improve."

The protagonist of this study, the diabetes drug lixisenatide, is actually one of the GLP-1 drugs.

GLP-1 drugs, as important drugs for lowering blood sugar and losing weight, have attracted significant attention and made remarkable progress in recent years. These drugs work by mimicking the action of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) in the human body, effectively lowering blood sugar levels and improving the quality of life of patients.

As early as 2009, the Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk developed the GLP-1 drug lixisenatide for the treatment of type 2 diabetes in Europe and the United States. Subsequently, Lilly Pharmaceuticals also accelerated the development of GLP-1 drugs.

When pharmaceutical giants develop GLP-1 drugs, they also test whether the drugs have an effect on other diseases, and the results show potential therapeutic effects on cardiovascular disease and Parkinson's disease.

The research results have greatly encouraged pharmaceutical giants, with one drug serving two purposes, a definite cash cow. Currently, in addition to lixisenatide, Novo Nordisk has developed GLP-1 drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy. Lilly Pharmaceuticals also produces Mounjaro and Zepbound to compete.

This has also brought GLP-1 drugs back into the spotlight, and the market value of Novo Nordisk and Lilly has soared due to the surge in drug sales.

However, Rascol also cautioned:

"Due to the difficulty of some GLP-1 drugs in crossing the blood-brain barrier, the therapeutic effect of treating Parkinson's disease is limited, and attention must be paid to the side effects in clinical application, such as nausea in over 45% of patients and vomiting in 13% of patients. Therefore, more testing is needed to confirm the efficacy of new drugs."

But with further advancement in drug research, it is believed that Parkinson's disease, which has long plagued humanity, may see a new dawn