Mendelian randomization ties GLP-1 receptor signaling to lower stroke and Alzheimer risk

The wire

1. 01Two-sample Mendelian randomization using GLP1R variants and circulating GLP-1R protein quantitative trait loci, across samples of 3,026 to 1,812,017 people, found protective associations with any stroke (OR 0.75), ischemic stroke (0.72), cardioembolic stroke (0.55) and Alzheimer disease (0.51).
2. 02The work adds genetic support to the brain-health hypothesis clinicians keep hearing about incretin drugs in diabetes and obesity.
3. 03Genetically proxied exposure is not the same as taking a GLP-1 agonist; effects on Alzheimer disease were only nominal in Europeans alone, and pQTL-based findings for hippocampal perivascular space and CSF beta-amyloid were nominal.

From the source

Genetic Insights Into Protective Effects of GLP-1 Receptor Agonists on Stroke and Alzheimer Disease Across Ancestries

Neurology. Genetics · 2026 Oct · Caro-Châtelier I, Sargurupremraj M, Yang C et al.