Imperial College London

Academic Institute

OFHS260049

Some medicines that are used to treat type 2 diabetes and obesity, called GLP-1 receptor agonists, may also slow down Parkinson's disease in some people. So far, the results of clinical trials have been mixed. Two trials showed a benefit, but a larger trial did not. We think the medicine may only help a smaller group of people whose Parkinson's disease is linked to problems with how their body handles sugar, fat and blood pressure. This study aims to find out which people with Parkinson's disease are most likely to benefit from these medicines. We will use health, lifestyle and genetic data from Our Future Health, together with similar information from other large UK and international studies. We will look for patterns that mark out a group of people whose Parkinson's disease is linked to a problem called insulin resistance, where the body does not respond properly to the hormone insulin. By the end of the study, we hope to describe a simple way for doctors to identify the people most likely to benefit from these medicines. This could help future clinical trials choose the right participants and could help doctors give the right treatment to the right person. Parkinson’s disease is a brain condition that affects movement. About 150,000 people in the UK live with it. Medicines called GLP-1 receptor agonists are already used to treat type 2 diabetes and to help with weight loss. In testing whether these medicines could also help people with Parkinson’s disease, the results so far have been mixed. Two smaller studies showed that people taking the medicine did better than people taking a dummy treatment. But a recent larger study did not find an overall benefit. One possible reason is that the medicines may only help some people with Parkinson’s, not everyone. In some people, Parkinson’s is closely linked to the way their body handles sugar, fat and blood pressure — what doctors call “metabolic health.” Using Our Future Health data, we can look for early signs of metabolic problems in people who go on to develop Parkinson’s, and check whether these signs mark out a group who would respond well to the medicines. If we are right, doctors could one day use a simple test to work out who is most likely to benefit. Future studies of the medicine could then focus on the right people, improving chances of success.

Parkinson's disease affects more than 150,000 people in the UK and there is no treatment that slows it down. New medicines called GLP-1 receptor agonists, used today for type 2 diabetes and weight loss, may help some people with Parkinson's. But the latest large UK trial did not show an overall benefit. We need to know whether some people respond and others do not, and how to tell them apart. Our Future Health volunteers are helping us answer this question. By looking at health information, blood test results and genetic data from a large group of people, we can spot patterns linking metabolic health (such as how the body handles sugar, fat and blood pressure) to Parkinson's disease. This research could lead to: better designed clinical trials, where the right people are invited to take part; a simple way for doctors to decide who is most likely to benefit from these medicines; a clearer picture of how Parkinson's develops in different people, which could lead to other new treatments. In the longer term, our work could help people with Parkinson's live well for longer and could save the NHS money by avoiding treatments that do not help.

Public Health Research

22/05/2026

01/06/2026

TRE