David PerlmutterPresident,, Perlmutter Health Center · Board-Certified Neurologist | Functional Medicine Pioneer | #1 New York Times Best-Selling Author | International Speaker | Host of The Empowering Neurologist Podcast

Can GLP-1s Lower Your Risk of Alzheimer's?

20 May 2026 · 1 min

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1:22

In this YouTube segment, neurologist Dr. David Perlmutter addresses the question of whether GLP-1 drugs, originally developed for diabetes, can lower the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. He explains that GLP-1 agents improve metabolism, reduce blood sugar, and enhance mitochondrial function, and cites an observational study showing diabetic patients on GLP-1 drugs had a lower incidence of Alzheimer’s compared to those on other anti‑diabetic medications. He then notes a recent oral semaglutide (Ozempic) trial that failed to demonstrate efficacy in treating Alzheimer’s, referencing his book Brain Defenders where he discusses the metabolic underpinnings of neurodegeneration. Perlmutter emphasizes the need to monitor ongoing GLP-1 research, suggesting the class could become a powerful tool for targeting Alzheimer’s pathology despite mixed current evidence.

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Will your GLP-1 drug reduce your risk of Alzheimer's? I'm Dr. David Perlmutter, and I'm a neurologist, and this is a question we're getting quite a bit lately. It's an interesting story. We know that our GLP-1 drugs that people are using target metabolism. That's why they were developed, to treat diabetes. But in targeting metabolism and reducing blood sugar and enhancing how insulin works, it's been found in diabetic patients at least that these drugs improve mitochondrial function, and one recent study demonstrated that diabetic patients using Using GLP-1 drugs actually had a lower risk of developing Alzheimer's in comparison to diabetic patients taking other anti-diabetic medications. That said, a new oral study on semaglutide, Ozempic, found that it was not effective actually in treating Alzheimer's disease. We talk about this extensively in my new book, Brain Defenders. Why? Because these drugs target metabolism, and that is a central feature in what makes a good brain go bad, if you will, as it relates to the Alzheimer's brain. So there's a lot more news to come, but absolutely we want to keep a close eye on further developments in the GLP-1 research because it may very well be that this turns out to be a powerful tool for targeting the brain and targeting Alzheimer's disease specifically.