GLP-1

This is the start of a new era of effective treatments for obesity - Dr. Robert F. Kushner

GLP-1

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The Weight-Loss-Drug Revolution Is a Miracle—And a Menace

Ozempic, Wegovy, and similar drugs represent the vanguard of a weight-loss revolution. Last year, Yanovski attended a conference in San Diego on the results of a new Novo Nordisk trial for adolescents and teens with severe obesity. The hotel ballroom was standing-room only, according to the scientific journal Nature, and the results of the trial were met with cheers, “like you were at a Broadway show.” After a year, young patients on semaglutide said they lost nearly 35 pounds on average. Teens on the placebo actually gained weight.

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How a lizard’s venom inspired the promising weight loss drug Wegovy

The new treatment — a once-weekly injectable from Novo Nordisk, a Danish pharmaceutical company that has hired many leading diabetes and obesity scientists as consultants — is poised to safely help many people with health-threatening obesity, physicians and researchers say. It may even illuminate some of the mysteries around how appetite works in the first place.

'A Game Changer’: Drug Brings Weight Loss in Patients With Obesity

For the first time, a drug has been shown so effective against obesity that patients may dodge many of its worst consequences, including diabetes, researchers reported on Wednesday. The drug, semaglutide, made by Novo Nordisk, already is marketed as a treatment for Type 2 diabetes.

A new treatment for obesity

Wegovy is the latest in a line of medications, starting with phentermine in 1959, that have achieved FDA approval for the treatment of obesity. Currently there are 10 FDA-approved anti-obesity medications in the US: phentermine, diethylpropion, benzphetamine, phendimetrazine, orlistat, phentermine/topiramate ER (Qsymia), bupropion/naltrexone (Contrave), liraglutide (Saxenda), setmelanotide (Imcivree), and now semaglutide (Wegovy).

Newly Approved Obesity Drug Wegovy Holds Promise, But Faces Reimbursement Challenges

The Wegovy approval continues a trend in which manufacturers of diabetes drugs repurpose them to treat other conditions that are common in diabetic patients. So, for example, the diabetes drugs Jardiance (empagliflozin) and Victoza (liraglutide) now have approvals for reducing the risk of heart attack, stroke and death in cardiovascular patients.

Novo Nordisk's Wegovy is First and Only Once-Weekly GLP-1 Agonist Approved for Weight Management

Bays added that Wegovy’s safety profile is “far safer” than earlier drugs for obesity that “have gone down in flames” over safety issues. The most common side effects of Wegovy are gastrointestinal problems such as nausea, diarrhea and vomiting. They typically subsided, but did cause about 5% of trial participants to stop taking the drug. There is also a possible risk for a type of thyroid tumor. As a result, the drug is contraindicated for people with a medical history or family history of certain thyroid and endocrine tumors. There is also a risk of depression and inflammation of the pancreas.

Once-Weekly Semaglutide in Adults with Overweight or Obesity

In participants with overweight or obesity, 2.4 mg of semaglutide once weekly plus lifestyle intervention was associated with sustained, clinically relevant reduction in body weight.

The FDA Has Approved An Obesity Drug That Helped Some People Drop Weight By 15%

Bays said Wegovy appears far safer than earlier obesity drugs that "have gone down in flames" over safety problems. Wegovy's most common side effects were gastrointestinal problems, including nausea, diarrhea and vomiting. Those usually subsided, but led about 5% of study participants to stop taking it.

What is GLP-1 & Does it Affect Weight & Cognition?

Some scientists hypothesize that GLP-1 decreases appetite by acting on specific areas in the brain. One side effect of GLP-1 agonists is weight loss, which is usually desired in patients with type 2 diabetes. However, GLP-1’s effects on weight haven’t been properly verified in humans without diabetes.