GLP-1 class weight loss drugs can help users shed tens of pounds, leading to a more active, energized life.
One in eight Americans now say they are taking shots, which became popular in the US in the early 2020s.
Since then, researchers have studied the benefits of additional drugs can have across several organ systems.
They have found a positive impact on harmful inflammation that can lead to deadly cancer, life-robbing dementia and cardiovascular health.
“Given the drug’s newness and skyrocketing popularity, it is important to systematically study their effects on all body systems – leaving no stone unturned – to understand what they do and what they don’t do,” Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly, a clinical epidemiologist and nephrologist at Missouri’s John J. Cochran Veterans Hospital, said in a statement.
Mounjaropremium (PA)
So what do researchers say so far about the many beneficial impacts?
heart
The lower inflammation is tied to the medicine to protect the blood vessels. Inflammation is a major part of how the most common heart disease in the US begins, according to Nebraska Medicine cardiologist Dr. Christina Dunbar Matos.
“If we can treat the disease at its root, that’s a good thing,” he said.
The shots may also reduce hospitalizations and deaths in people with a type of heart failure in which the heart doesn’t fill properly with blood, known as “HFpEF.”
Several recent studies have found that the medication helps reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke.
Research from England’s University of Bristol and University College London suggests that drugs that mimic GLP-1 can help prevent further tissue damage after a heart attack and limit the risk of further complications.
“With an increasing number of similar GLP-1 drugs now being used in clinical practice, for conditions ranging from type 2 diabetes and obesity to kidney disease, our findings highlight the potential for these existing drugs to be re-used to treat ‘no-reflow’ risk in heart attack patients, offering a potentially life-saving solution,” said University College London Professor David Atwell.
kidney
More than one in seven Americans live with chronic kidney disease — and many are unaware they’re affected, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
GLP-1s can reduce the risk of worsening kidney disease, as well as developing kidney failure, said the American Kidney Fund.
“These drugs help control your blood sugar levels. This means that less sugar enters your kidneys, preventing damage to your kidney filters,” the fund wrote.
A Johns Hopkins study released earlier this week showed that the five-year risk of major cardiovascular events and end-stage kidney disease was reduced by 15 percent and 19 percent, respectively, for type 1 diabetics who took the drug.
liver
The drugs also show promise in treating liver disease. Harvard researchers found that taking the drug caused the reversal of liver scarring due to metabolic dysfunction associated with steatotic liver disease, also known as “MASH.” Scarring is one of the most common reasons for a liver transplant.
Research from King’s College London shows semaglutide – the active ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy – effectively treats liver disease in two-thirds of patients.
In August, the US Food and Drug Administration approved the use of Wegovy to treat MASH in adults with excessive scar tissue in the liver.
Approximately 27,000 blue flags representing the lives that can be saved from colorectal cancer with further funding and research were seen on the National Mall in Washington, DC, earlier this month. More than two million new cases are expected this year. GLP-1 has shown promise in reducing the risk of some cancers, although more research is needed (Getty Images)
disease
Finally, there may even be some benefits for the 7.2 million Americans living with Alzheimer’s disease – the most common form of dementia in the US – and the 100 million Americans living with obesity.
People with obesity are at a higher risk of developing life-threatening cancers, with 2.1 million new cases expected this year, according to the American Cancer Society.
However, GLP-1 users can reduce the risk of developing 14 types, including the risk of ovarian cancer by 47 percent, according to Purdue University researchers.
For people with Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative brain conditions, GLP-1s have shown mixed results.
The semaglutide pill did not slow disease progression compared to a placebo, researchers said last November. However, a separate study using a GLP-1 drug called liraglutide showed a nearly 50 percent loss of brain volume and an 18 percent slower decline in cognitive function in people with Alzheimer’s in December.
Scientists are still working to understand the relationship between GLP-1 and Alzheimer’s.
“A negative test result may indicate a lack of drug access to the brain, rather than a failure of the concept itself,” Paul Edison, professor of neuroscience at Imperial College London, explained.
#GLP1 #weight #loss #drug #shed #pounds #surprising #health #benefits