"Mice Administered Obesity Drug Ingredient Live Over 90 Days Longer and Show Improved Cognitive Function"

U.S. Research Team Analyzes Mice Administered Semaglutide
Lived 92 Days Longer Than Control Group, With Aging Alleviated
"Similar to Calorie Restriction... Potential for Broader Applications"

A study has found that the lifespan of aged mice administered semaglutide, the active ingredient in obesity treatment drugs, increased by over 12%.

Anti-obesity drug Wegovy. Photo by Reuters Yonhap News

According to Yonhap News on September 3, the research team led by Professor Danica Chen at the University of California, Berkeley, published these findings in the scientific journal "Nature." The team divided 20-month-old female mice into three groups: a semaglutide-administered group, a control group, and a calorie-restricted group, and analyzed the outcomes.

The analysis showed that the median lifespan of mice continuously administered semaglutide was 834 days, 92 days longer than the control group's 742 days—an increase of 12.4%. Additionally, the mice exhibited improvements in physiological and cognitive functions, and several features of aging were alleviated.

Semaglutide is the main ingredient in the obesity treatment drugs Ozempic and Wegovy. It reduces food intake, and thus is widely used to treat type 2 diabetes and obesity. The research team noted, "Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) drugs not only lower blood sugar and reduce body weight, but also have positive effects on various bodily functions. However, the mechanisms underlying these effects have not been fully elucidated."

To verify whether semaglutide's effects were simply due to reduced food consumption, the team compared the semaglutide group to a "calorie-restricted group" that had their food intake reduced by 24%. Both groups experienced similar reductions in body weight and fat. However, fasting-related behavioral and metabolic changes observed in the calorie-restricted group were not present in the semaglutide group.

Differences were also apparent in functional outcomes. While both groups showed mitigation of age-related declines in motor abilities and muscle function, the semaglutide group exhibited improvements in exploratory behavior, spatial memory, and blood glucose regulation that surpassed the levels seen at the start of administration.

Biological markers showed distinct changes as well. Semaglutide administration alleviated aging in bone marrow hematopoietic stem cells and enhanced regenerative capacity per cell. Neural stem cell activity and neuron formation in the hippocampal dentate gyrus of the brain were increased. Both inflammation and cellular aging were also reduced. Liver gene expression analysis revealed decreased activity related to inflammation and lipid metabolism, while adaptive immune response, insulin response, and protein homeostasis were enhanced.

The team explained, "A variety of effects found in the semaglutide-administered mice cannot be explained solely by reduced food intake," adding, "This suggests that semaglutide could influence aging via mechanisms beyond just caloric reduction." They continued, "While calorie restriction has been studied as a way to slow aging and extend lifespan, it is difficult to adopt long-term. This research indicates that semaglutide could potentially be used as a mimetic drug to achieve the benefits of calorie restriction."

However, the researchers emphasized that long-term clinical studies are needed to determine whether similar effects occur in human aging and lifespan. Professor Chen stated, "Uncovering the biological pathways targeted by GLP-1 drugs, and the specific benefits arising from those pathways, represents an important direction for research into lifespan extension interventions," adding, "These findings may provide crucial guidance for future studies." She concluded, "Future clinical research may investigate the benefits of semaglutide in healthy older adults, potentially greatly expanding the range of GLP-1 drug applications."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.