As demand for weight-loss injections sold under brand names such as Ozempic and Wegovy continues to soar, a study has uncovered neurological and behavioral health benefits amid risks for pancreatitis and kidney disease.

Popular GLP-1 medications approved for weight loss, diabetes, and heart disease may have untapped potential to reduce the risks of substance abuse disorders, psychosis, infections, some kinds of cancer and dementia,

About 140,400 obese patients in Massachusetts were prescribed medications like Wegovy and Zepbound in 2024, a 255 percent increase from 2023, according to a Globe analysis of insurance claims data.

If successful, the result could be lower Medicare Part D prices for drugs used to create a variety of conditions, such as cancer, asthma, type 2 diabetes and weight loss - Ozempic, Rybelsus and Wegovy. Austedo and Austedo XR, used to treat Huntington’s disease.

The findings, based on an analysis of records from 2.5 million VA patients, support much of what scientists already suspected but contain surprises, too.

Demand for weight-loss medications sold under brand names such as Ozempic and Wegovy continues to surge, with a recent study reporting one in eight Americans has taken or is currently using the drugs to treat diabetes,

In all, researchers found that people taking GLP-1 medications had lower risks for 42 health outcomes, including liver failure, lung failure, cardiac arrest, aspiration pneumonia and shock.