Ozempic 2.0?
Researchers say they have discovered a new use for GLP-1, a hormone that the body naturally produces after eating. Drugs like Ozempic mimic GLP-1 to make you feel full and suppress your appetite.
In this new treatment, GLP-1 acts like a “Trojan horse,” smuggling a special molecule directly into the brain’s appetite-control center. In a study that tested a single drug that delivered both a hormone and a molecule, mice that took the drug lost more weight than mice that took existing drugs.
“The effects of the combination of GLP-1 and these molecules are very strong. In some cases, mice lost twice as much weight compared to mice treated with GLP-1 alone.” Study lead author Christopher Clemensen explains:, Associate Professor at the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research, University of Copenhagen, Denmark. Novo Nordisk manufactures Ozempic and Wegovy.
People tend to lose 15% to 20% of their body weight with Ozempic or similar drugs, but about one-third of users only lose about 10%. According to Columbia University’s Department of Surgery.
Clemensen said this new treatment could pave the way for patients to achieve the same effects with lower doses. Additionally, it may be an alternative medication for people who do not respond well to these medications.
Common side effects include nausea, diarrhea, abdominal pain, vomiting, and constipation.
“Our study in mice shows side effects similar to those experienced by patients treated with currently marketed weight loss drugs, such as nausea,” Professor Clemensen said.
“However, this drug is so effective that in the future we may be able to reduce the dose and reduce some of the side effects. However, it remains to be seen how humans will respond to this drug. “I don’t know,” he added.
The drug still has to undergo three stages of clinical trials on human participants. Clemensen said it could be eight years before it’s available to the public.
Clemensen’s research results announced It was published in Nature magazine last week..
“I believe that the drugs available on the market today are first-generation weight loss drugs,” Clemensen said. “We have now developed a new type of weight loss drug that affects brain plasticity and appears to be highly effective.”
