boom interest in Ozempic and its babe drugs was a huge health taradiddle in 2024 – and it ’s not go anywhere . Called GLP-1 sense organ agonist ( GLP-1RAs ) , the drugs were first grow to cover character 2 diabetes , but really took off when their potential as free weight loss assistance was recognise . Now , with hints they might have yet more undiscovered result , scientists have do what they say is the first comprehensive analytic thinking of the possible risk of exposure and benefits of GLP-1RAs .
The squad , led by fourth-year author Dr Ziyad Al - Aly of Washington University in St Louis , mapped the association between GLP-1RAs and 175 different wellness outcomes , using data from a total of over 2 million people obtained from the US Department of Veterans Affairs .
All the patient role using GLP-1RAs in the study had been prescribe them for case 2 diabetes management , not to treat obesity .
These were thought to be the major functions of GLP-1RAs, and why they work for diabetes and weight management. However, since GLP-1 receptors are found throughout the body, it’s not that surprising they’re starting to be linked to other health effects.Image credit: Designua/Shutterstock.com
Dr Al - Aly told a public press briefing that this was the first comprehensive assessment of the risks and benefits , after the recent “ blowup ” in the exercise of these drug around the Earth .
A brief history of GLP-1RAs
GLP-1RAs have an intriguing bloodline story call for theonly venomous lizard in the US , the Gila monster . A compound isolated from the reptile ’s spit was find to bind to human GLP-1 receptor , with the added perk that it was dull to break down in the body . This has the upshot of simulating insulin production to help control blood sugar .
The first GLP-1RA to be approve , back in 2005 , was calledexenatide . Its role was limit to typewrite 2 diabetes .
inquiry into thenewest generation of GLP-1RAsdemonstrated their potential for system of weights direction . They knead bydecreasing appetite , and mass using these drug often speak of a reduction in “ nutrient noise ” – they are n’t so focused on food for thought , and consequently eat less .
The bighearted drug of the moment is semaglutide , commercialise in slightly different formulations under a range of brand names , including Ozempic and Wegovy .
No one predicted that GLP-1RAs would have this other function , though that ’s not an rare story with drug . After they ’re okay for one use and people bulge deal them in greater numbers , other side or “ off - target”benefits – as well as risks – can start to emerge . It ’s rare that a medication will do exactly one thing . As Dr Al - Aly put it , “ biological science is too complex . ”
More and more research isstarting to emergesuggesting that GLP-1RAs could have a host of other aesculapian uses . At the same time , clinicians are get a clearer sense of the side impression , mild and severe . For Dr Al - Aly and the squad , it was metre to expect at the gravid picture .
Discovery analysis: what did the study find?
The 175 health outcomes included in the study covered a whole compass of medical conditions and corporal systems . GLP-1RAs were found to be associated with a surprising raiment of benefits .
These included a decreased risk of acuate andchronic kidney disease , infection , substance utilisation disorders , psychotic disorders , clotting disorders , and dementia ( including Alzheimer ’s disease ) .
At the same metre , the cogitation confirmed that GLP-1RAs are not without risks . Gastrointestinal problems are coarse , peculiarly when someone first starts taking the drug . As well as nausea and diarrhea , these can extend to more complex or longer - term problems , like gastroesophageal ebb disease , gastroparesis ( palsy of the stomach ) , and excitement of the colon .
Beyond that , some other potential risks include sleep issues , small blood insistence ( sometimes leading tofainting ) , kidney stones , arthritis , and acute pancreatitis .
The overall substance is that GLP-1RAs do appear to be multiuse , or “ pleiotropic ” to use the expert term .
“ next investigation should leverage the pleiotropy of GLP-1RAs to evaluate their potency in treating multimorbidities , rather than focusing on a undivided wellness condition , particularly where obesity or other mechanistic pathways affected by GLP-1RAs are leading driver , ” the authors write in their paper .
They stressed that the findings are observational at this point – we ca n’t say for certain from these data that the use of GLP-1RAs alone was directly responsible for any of the health termination . They also flag that the dataset they used hold in preponderantly older white males , so analysis in a more various cohort would be useful .
What do the results mean?
When asked about the results that particularly stood out , Dr Al - Aly highlight the effect on pith use disorders . There have beensuggestions recentlythat GLP-1RAs could help treat these experimental condition , but it was the consistence that was surprising – the same prescribed upshot was seen across tobacco , ganja , opioids , and alcohol .
The decreased risk ofAlzheimer ’s diseaseobserved also merits further investigation . Dr Al - Aly put the risk of infection reducing at 12 percent – though not exceptionally high , he suggested this is still welcome base on the lack of uncommitted intervention and preventative . The findings could also pushdementia drug researchin new and fruitful directions .
For many of these wellness outcome , though , it ’s hard to know for sure if the drug is indirectly or directly causing them . The high pace of kidney Lucy Stone , for instance , might not be due to something the drug is doing but rather because citizenry taking it have a low-toned appetite and struggle to drink enough fluids .
Some of the benefits , too , may be explain by the fact that people take the drug lean to lose weighting , rather than the drug themselves having a lineal overconfident outcome on a particular system or organ . Of course , that does also mean that mass who do not have obesity may not see the same grade of welfare from pack GLP-1RAs . A bunch of these doubt will need to be address in next study .
What about people already taking these drugs?
Dr Al - Aly stressed that any conversations around the risks vs. benefit of taking GLP-1RAs should be a personal discussion between patient and care supplier , taking into account their unique aesculapian history . There ’s still a lot we do n’t know about these medication , and lots of research is underway .
“ If you ’re using GLP-1 medicament , this study brings good news : these treatments may help in means we did n’t in full realize before , like lowering the danger of sure diseases,”commentedDr Georgia Rigas , a Senior Bariatric Medical Practitioner and Obesity Doctor in Australia who was not involve in the field of study .
Others echoed the writer ’ calls for caution . “ This character of ‘ big data point ’ research will sire lots of statistical association , some of which will be spurious , ” commented Professor David Henry of the Institute for Evidence - Based Healthcare at Bond University .
Any use of these drugs must take place under close medical supervision . wellness authority have warned about the danger offake semaglutide productson the black market . A late survey inJAMA Health Forumfound that on-line advertising of compounded GLP-1RAs – containing the dynamic drug and other inactive ingredients in different combinations – often includes misleading or incomplete information .
These compounded drugs arenot approved by the US Food and Drug Administration , but this fact was not always include in online commercials .
The UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency issued areminder in 2024that wellness professionals should be do patient aware of the known side effects of GLP-1RAs , and reiterate the want for ongoing monitoring .
“ This is the get-go of a journey , ” Dr Al - Aly tell the press briefing . The objective of this study was to make an atlas vertebra of the likely wellness risks and benefits of GLP-1RAs , some of which have not been research before . It will be for future studies to moil deeply into this landscape and reckon out the best possible function of these doubtless transformative medicines .
The field is published inNature Medicine .
