The potential of GLP-1 drugs to transform medicine exploded in 2025

Previously praised (or ridiculed) as a weight loss aid for the rich and famous, drugs such as Mounjaro, Wegovy and Ozempic have taken on a much broader role in 2025. Ozempic is no longer considered simply a treatment for obesity and type 2 diabetes, but has received approval in the US for the treatment of kidney disease and cardiovascular disease. But it didn't stop there: evidence that these drugs could change almost every corner of medicine really exploded this year.

There have already been hints that drugs that mimic a gut hormone called glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) could do much more than just control diabetes and obesity, and studies in 2024 showed that they reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke, relieve depression anxiety and even slow cognitive decline.

At first, many assumed it was a simple side effect of weight loss, since obesity is a major risk factor in many diseases. But by early 2025, it became clear that something else was going on. More detailed studies showed that people saw benefits for their health no matter how much weight they lost.

Researchers have begun to discover how GLP-1 drugs act through multiple pathways, including several related to inflammation. They also appear to influence metabolism and brain circuits involved in motivation, reward and mood, which may explain their new health benefits. alcohol addiction and depression.

Until recently, most of this data came from animal experiments or observational studies. But in 2025 there was a wave of larger randomized trials examining the drugs' broader effects.

In January, researchers reported that people with diabetes taking GLP-1 drugs along with standard treatment experienced lower risk of 42 conditions – including dementia and muscle pain – compared with those who received standard therapy only. It wasn't all good news: They were also linked to an increased risk of 19 diseases, including kidney stones, but overall the benefits outweigh the harms.

Some of the most exciting discoveries of the past year involve the brain. The proposed link between GLP-1 medications and reductions in addictive behavior was supported by the first randomized clinical trial to directly test this idea.

In a nine-week study of 48 people with alcohol use disorder, those who took semaglutide—the drug in Ozempic and Wegovy— drank less and reported less cravings for alcohol than those given a placebo. “We are very encouraged by the progress that has been made,” says Tony Goldstone at Imperial College London. “We don't have many drugs for addiction, and [GLP-1 drugs] are already licensed for other conditions, so we know they are quite safe.”

Other cognitive benefits emerged this year. In April, a meta-analysis of 26 clinical trials involving more than 160,000 people found that GLP-1 drugs significantly reduce the risk of all types of dementia. This followed a trial led by Paul Edisonalso at Imperial College London, showing that treating people with Alzheimer's disease for a year with the GLP-1 drug liraglutide, found in brand-name drugs Saxenda and Nevolat, halved brain shrinkage and slowed cognitive decline by 18 percent compared with placebo.

Edison believes that Alzheimer's disease results from overlapping pathological processes rather than from a single cause. GLP-1 drugs may work by targeting some of them, he says, protecting neurons through kinase pathways that are vital to how cells respond to stress; reducing cell damage by improving insulin sensitivity; and mitigation of inflammation.

But the good news didn't end there. Later in April, GLP-1 drugs became the first pharmaceutical to show clear results. benefits for people with severe non-alcoholic fatty liver diseasewhere the accumulation of fat causes inflammation and scarring that can lead to cirrhosis and cancer.

Even aging comes into play. In a small study of people with the aging-accelerating complication of HIV, those who received Ozempic injections for 32 weeks had, on average, 3.1 years biologically younger by the end of the study compared with no change in the placebo group.

Varun Dwarka of TruDiagnostic in Lexington, Kentucky, who worked on the study, reiterates that the effects are not just due to weight loss. “Although weight loss may seem to be part of the biological aging story, early data, as well as what is known about GLP-1 biology, suggest that there is an independent level of metabolic improvement that leads to improvements in biological age,” he says.

And there are no signs of slowing down. By the end of the year, studies linked GLP-1 drugs to improved health outcomes. age-related cataract, psoriasis and even renewal of vital stem cells that support immunity.

This Swiss army knife of the drug class is sure to yield even more discoveries in 2026 as researchers work to understand how one type of treatment can affect so many conditions—and where its limits truly lie. It's clear, Goldstone says, that even though larger and longer trials are needed, “we're moving in the right direction.”