An Exciting Opportunity
Current research investigating GLP-1s in psychiatry and neurology is increasingly focused on neuroinflammation, said Dr. De Giorgi.
Research shows significant evidence that certain medications may help reduce dysfunctional inflammatory processes linked to various cognitive and psychiatric disorders, he added.
Many patients with established psychiatric conditions also have physical health issues, which contribute to increased mortality risk, said Dr. De Giorgi. It’s crucial to understand that, if these treatments improve mortality outcomes for psychiatric patients, the specific mechanisms involved are secondary to the results. Psychiatrists must be equipped to prescribe, manage, and initiate these therapies.
“While trials involving psychosis patients are ongoing, we are making progress and should seize this opportunity” said Dr. De Giorgi.
Dr. Cryan agreed: “I think we’ll get there. What these drugs have shown is that you can, through a single mechanism, have multitude effects related to brain-body interactions, and why not focus that on mood and anxiety and cognitive performance? It’s exciting no matter what. We now need to do longitudinal, cross-sectional, placebo-controlled trials in specific patient populations.”
This study received funding from the National Institute for Health and Care Research Oxford Health Biomedical Research Centre and Medical Research Council. Dr. De Giorgi’s coauthors reported receiving funding for other work from Novo Nordisk, Five Lives, Cognetivity Ltd., Cognex, P1vital, Lundbeck, Servier, UCB, Zogenix, Johnson & Johnson, and Syndesi. Dr. Cryan reported no relevant disclosures.
A version of this article appeared on Medscape.com.