Abstract
We aimed to determine the effect of semaglutide on patients with acute large vessel occlusion (LVO) receiving endovascular therapy (EVT). In this phase 2, investigator-initiated, multicenter, prospective, randomized, open-label, blinded endpoint trial conducted in China, we recruited patients with disabling LVO undergoing EVT. Patients were randomized to semaglutide therapy (0.5 mg subcutaneous semaglutide before and 1 week after EVT) or standard therapy. The primary outcome was defined as favorable neurological recovery (modified Rankin Scale 0-2 at 90 days). Between August 2023 and July 2024, 140 patients were randomized to semaglutide (n = 69) or standard therapy (n = 71). The primary outcome occurred in 39 (56.5%) in the semaglutide group and 39 (54.9%) in the standard therapy group (adjusted RR 1.05, 95% CI 0.95-1.15, p = 0.37). We observed treatment effect modification by intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) on semaglutide therapy (p(interaction) = 0.02); thus we performed the following exploratory analyses: The primary outcome occurred in 22 (64.7%) in the semaglutide group and 15 (44.1%) in the standard therapy group (adjusted RR 1.18, 95% CI 1.02-1.36) in the no-IVT stratum (n = 68). The primary outcome was similar between two groups in the IVT-stratum. No severe adverse event was attributed to semaglutide treatment. This phase 2 trial suggested semaglutide was safe in patients with LVO and was associated with an improved neurological outcome in patients not receiving IVT. These preliminary observations should be confirmed in a phase 3 randomized trial (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT05920889).