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Glucagon-like peptide-1 class drugs show clear protective effects in Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease clinical trials: A revolution in the making?
Hölscher C.. Neuropharmacology, 2024-04-25
Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models
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.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Hölscher, C. (2024). Glucagon-like peptide-1 class drugs show clear protective effects in Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease clinical trials: A revolution in the making? Neuropharmacology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropharm.2024.109952
Vancouver
Hölscher C. Glucagon-like peptide-1 class drugs show clear protective effects in Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease clinical trials: A revolution in the making? Neuropharmacology. 2024. doi:10.1016/j.neuropharm.2024.109952. PMID: 38677445.
BibTeX
@article{holscher2024-38677445,
author = {Hölscher, C.},
title = {{Glucagon-like peptide-1 class drugs show clear protective effects in Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease clinical trials: A revolution in the making?}},
journal = {Neuropharmacology},
year = {2024},
doi = {10.1016/j.neuropharm.2024.109952},
pmid = {38677445},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropharm.2024.109952}
}
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Key findings
- 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.
Why it matters
GLP-1 class drugs such as exendin-4, liraglutide and lixisenatide, already on the market for diabetes, showed clear effects in improving motor activity in Parkinson's patients in phase II trials. Liraglutide also showed improvement in cognition and brain shrinkage in a phase II trial in patients with Alzheimer's disease.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 47/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on institution's track record, so that was left out: it earned 46 of the 97 points we could judge it on, which is 47 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Neuropharmacology) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | Neuropharmacology: journal h-index 246 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 4 / 5 | 2024 — within 3 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 4 / 7 | Cited 89 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 4 / 5 | 22.2 citations a year over 4 year(s) since 2024 |
| Impact for its field and year | 5 / 6 | Cited 20.8× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 1 / 6 | Cited by 2 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 3 / 4 | Cited 89 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Christian Hölscher: h-index 86 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | — / 3 | No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 0 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 0 institution(s) in 0 countries — scores zero (affiliation lists can be incomplete) |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 38677445) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 46 / 97 | Scored on 19 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 46 of the 97 points we could judge it on is 47 out of 100. |
| Total | 47 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
- DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2024.109952
- PubMed: 38677445
- Original source →
- Free full text: Neuropharmacology →
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
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