Ozempic relative slowed Parkinson's disease in small study

The trial lasted only a year but offered glimmers of hope to some experts.

In 1817, James Parkinson expressed hope for the disease that bears his name. He believed that at some point there would be a discovery and "the progression of the disease could be stopped."

Now, almost 200 years after Parkinson expressed his hope, and after four decades of unsuccessful clinical trials, a group of French researchers reported the first glimmer of success: a slight slowing of the disease during a one-year study.

< p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">And the drugs they took? A so-called GLP-1 receptor agonist, similar to the popular drugs Ozempic, for diabetes, and Wegovy, for obesity.

At least half a million Americans have been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, a degenerative brain disease second only to Alzheimer's disease in prevalence.

Symptoms include tremors, slowness and stiffness, as well as difficulty with balance. This can lead to difficulty walking, speaking and swallowing. Many patients develop dementia.

But there are medications and treatments, like deep brain stimulation, that help, said Dr. David Standaert, an expert in dementia. Parkinson's disease at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

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