GLP-1 drugs linked to lower Parkinson's risk in people with type 2 diabetes

Key Findings

Pill vs. shot: oral semaglutide holds its own for weight loss 💊

• A systematic review of 30 studies found oral semaglutide 50 mg produced about 15% body weight loss at 68 weeks — nearly identical to the injectable 2.4 mg version's 14.9% in its landmark trial.
• Oral bioavailability is only about 1% (vs. ~89% for the injection), but a special absorption enhancer closes much of the practical gap. Needle-averse patients showed equivalent adherence to the oral form.

Who stops taking semaglutide — and why it costs them 💸

• A Danish cohort study tracked semaglutide discontinuation for obesity management, finding meaningful dropout rates tied to baseline patient characteristics.
• Separately, a U.S. cohort study found that higher out-of-pocket costs among commercially insured adults were directly associated with worse adherence — meaning price is functioning as a clinical variable, not just a financial one.

Surgery still wins on weight, but GLP-1 drugs close the gap on survival

• A systematic review and meta-analysis comparing bariatric surgery to GLP-1 receptor agonists found surgery produces more durable weight loss, but GLP-1 drugs showed competitive signals on mortality and cardiovascular outcomes.
• The comparison is complicated by very different patient populations and follow-up lengths — surgery patients tend to be more severe cases, making head-to-head interpretation tricky.

GLP-1 drugs linked to lower cardiovascular death in serious mental illness 🫀

• People with bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, or schizophrenia face substantially higher cardiovascular mortality — and a new study published in JAMA Psychiatry found GLP-1 receptor agonist use was associated with lower rates of cardiovascular events and death in this population.
• This is observational, but the finding matters because people with serious mental illness are often excluded from major drug trials.

Scientists engineered a semaglutide that lasts longer in the brain 🔬

• Researchers identified a previously unknown enzyme — insulin-degrading enzyme (IDE) — that breaks down GLP-1 in the body, including in the central nervous system.
• By swapping in D-amino acids at the two cleavage sites, they built a modified semaglutide that resisted IDE degradation, showed longer plasma retention, and produced sustained glucose-lowering in mice. The CNS stability angle is new territory.

The best day to take your weekly injection? Doesn't matter.

• A systematic review following PRISMA guidelines screened 1,471 records to answer one practical question: does the day of the week you inject semaglutide or tirzepatide affect outcomes?
• After deduplication, 1,000 papers were reviewed. Zero studies directly compared different injection days. The conclusion: flexible scheduling based on patient preference is fine, and that's essentially all the evidence supports.