Liraglutide in mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease: a phase 2b clinical trial
- Design
- Randomized trial · 204 participants · Mixed outcome
- Match to healthy normal-weight adults aged 55–75
- Partial matchNon-diabetic older adults not selected for weight, but with established AD.
- Could weight loss explain it?
- Unlikely[Auto] Not addressed in abstract.
- Study tier
- Study tier 3Phase 2b with a null imaging primary endpoint and a nominally significant secondary.
- Assessment
- Version 2 · curated · Sep 13, 2026
Study facts come from the paper. Population match, weight-loss explanation and study tier are our judgments, made against the reference group of healthy normal-weight adults aged 55–75.
In 204 non-diabetic people with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's, a year of liraglutide did not change brain glucose metabolism (the main endpoint); an executive-function score was slightly better, but daily-function and global scores were not. Small and mostly negative.
01Findings
What the study reported
- Drugs
- Liraglutide
- Dose
- daily (up to 1.8 mg, full text)
- Route
- subcutaneous
- Treatment duration
- 52 weeks
- Comparator
- placebo
- Primary outcome
- Change in cerebral glucose metabolic rate (FDG-PET)
- Effect
- Primary difference -0.17 (NS); ADAS-Exec 0.15 (unadjusted p=0.01); ADCS-ADL and CDR-SoB no difference
- 95% confidence interval
- -0.39 to 0.06 (primary)
- P value
- 0.14
- Follow-up
- 52 weeks
- Adverse events
- Not extracted
- Limitations
- Auto-classified from abstract only; effect estimates, adverse events and limitations not extracted. Requires manual review.
Who was studied
- Obesity status
- not an entry criterion
- Diabetes status
- excluded (no diabetes)
- Baseline condition
- mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease syndrome
- Sample size
- 204
Study quality details
- Study design
- Randomized controlled trial
- Sample size
- 204
- Randomization
- yes
- Blinding
- double-blind
- Comparator
- placebo
- Follow up duration
- 52 weeks
- Outcome type
- mixed
- Replication
- not assessed (auto)
- Consistency with other evidence
- not assessed (auto)
- Population applicability
- PARTIAL
- Statistical precision
- n=204; primary null; secondary unadjusted for multiplicity
- Risk of bias
- not assessed (auto)
- Funding conflicts
- no
- Peer review status
- yes
02Funding
Funding and conflicts
- Funding
- Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation; Novo Nordisk supplied support (author disclosures list Novo Nordisk grants)
- Industry funded
- Partial
- Manufacturer
- Novo Nordisk
- Sponsor role
- Academic sponsor; drug/support from Novo Nordisk (verify).
- Author conflicts
- Lead author reports grants and speaker fees from Novo Nordisk, Pfizer, Eli Lilly and others.
- Independent replication
- unknown
- Notes
- Authors declare relationships with the drug's manufacturer: Novo Nordisk
Funding is shown on every study and never used to score it.
03Claims
Claims this study bears on
- GLP-1 receptor agonist treatment reduces the risk of developing dementia.Mixed
ELAD phase 2b: primary endpoint (cerebral glucose metabolism) null; executive-function secondary nominally better.
- GLP-1 receptor agonists slow clinical progression of Alzheimer's disease.Mixed
Primary imaging endpoint null; small secondary signal.
04Source
The source, as retrieved
Abstract
Liraglutide, a glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) agonist and antidiabetic drug, has shown neuroprotective effects in animal models. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of liraglutide in mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease syndrome. 'Evaluating liraglutide in Alzheimer's disease' (ELAD) is a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 2b trial in 204 participants with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease syndrome with no diabetes. Participants received daily injections of liraglutide or placebo for 52 weeks. They underwent fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography, magnetic resonance imaging and detailed neuropsychometric evaluations. The primary outcome was a change in cerebral glucose metabolic rate. Secondary outcomes were safety and tolerability and cognitive changes. The primary outcome showed no significant differences in cerebral glucose metabolism (difference = -0.17; 95% confidence interval: -0.39 to 0.06; P = 0.14) between the two groups. The secondary outcome-score on the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-Executive domain (ADAS-Exec)-performed better in liraglutide-treated patients compared to placebo (0.15; 95% confidence interval: 0.03-0.28; unadjusted P = 0.01). No significant differences were observed in Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study-Activities of Daily Living (ADCS-ADL) (-0.58; 95% confidence interval: -3.13 to 1.97; unadjusted P = 0.65) or Clinical Dementia Rating-Sum of Boxes (CDR-SoB) (-0.06; 95% confidence interval: -0.57 to 0.44; unadjusted P = 0.81) scores. Liraglutide was generally safe and well tolerated in non-diabetic patients with Alzheimer's disease. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01843075 .
Where this record came from
| Source | Retrieved | Identifier |
|---|---|---|
| pubmed | Sep 13, 2026 | 41326666 first ingestion |