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Gizmodo
19 hours ago
- Health
- Gizmodo
This Once-a-Month Ozempic Rival Just Delivered Big Results
Having to take Ozempic or other weight loss drugs can be a real pain in the ass, with users often having to jab themselves once each week. In newly released clinical trial data, Amgen's once-monthly experimental drug MariTide performed as well as or even better than the existing blockbuster GLP-1 medications semaglutide and tirzepatide. People taking MariTide consistently lost more weight than those on placebo, with some losing up to 20% of their baseline weight over a year's time. Amgen is moving ahead to Phase III trials of MariTide, setting the stage for a fierce competition among the next generation of obesity drugs. Amgen presented the full results of its Phase II trial of MariTide this week at the annual American Diabetes Association meeting; the results were also published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Ozempic Might Be a Dementia Buster, Too Like semaglutide (Ozempic and Wegovy) and tirzepatide (Zepbound and Mounjaro) before it, MariTide mimics GLP-1, a hormone important to regulating our hunger and blood sugar. But the injectable medication has a few new tricks up its sleeve. The drug additionally carries a molecule that targets GIP, another important hunger-related hormone. Interestingly enough, tirzepatide mimics GIP, but MariTide inhibits it (that suggests GIP's role in controlling our weight is plenty complicated). The experimental drug also contains a lab-made antibody designed to keep it lingering in our system for a long time, so it's intended to be taken monthly or once every two months, compared to the weekly shots needed for semaglutide and tirzepatide. The Phase II trial involved nearly 600 adults, some of whom had type 2 diabetes and others with only obesity. In those with obesity only, people lost up to 20% of their weight on average over a 52-week span (those on placebo lost an average of 2.6% body weight). People with type 2 diabetes lost on average up to 17% of their weight. These results, while not directly comparable at this point, are on par with the clinical trial data of the latest GLP-1 drugs. And since participants were still continuing to shed pounds by the study's end, it's possible that the typical weight loss seen with MariTide might be even higher. 'MariTide delivered strong efficacy, including sustained weight loss without a plateau in the 52-week Phase 2 study and meaningful improvements in cardiometabolic risk factors, representing a defining advance for the obesity field,' said Jay Bradner, executive vice president of research and development at Amgen, in a statement from the company. Not everything with MariTide is sunshine and puppies, however. Rates of vomiting were much higher among certain groups of people on MariTide, for instance, which likely contributed to a higher rate of people dropping out before the study's end. But some data also suggest this side effect can be dampened by gradually raising people's doses over time, similar to how existing GLP-1 drugs are managed. The Best Obesity Drugs Aren't Even Here Yet Amgen will fully test out this staggered dosing strategy in its Phase III 72-week-long trial of MariTide for people with obesity and Type 2 diabetes, which has already begun enrollment. The company also plans to launch Phase III trials for cardiovascular disease, sleep apnea, and heart failure. But it's far from alone in the arms race to develop more effective or practical obesity treatments. Dozens of other candidates are in the pipeline, each with their own possible advantages over today's drugs, such as being available via a pill or coming without the gastrointestinal side effects common to GLP-1s. Not all of these experimental drugs will work out, of course, but it seems likely that semaglutide and tirzepatide soon won't be the only options available for people with obesity.
Al Arabiya
a day ago
- Health
- Al Arabiya
Novo Nordisk's jabs like Ozempic helps type 1 diabetes patients lose weight: Study
People with type 1 diabetes who need to lose weight can benefit from the blockbuster GLP-1 drug semaglutide currently approved only for type 2 diabetes, according to results from a small trial. Semaglutide is the active ingredient in Novo Nordisk's diabetes drugs Ozempic and Rybelsus, as well as its weight-loss treatment Wegovy. In the first clinical trial testing the Novo drug in people with type 1 diabetes and obesity, the 36 patients who received weekly semaglutide injections along with their usual insulin spent more time in their target blood sugar range and lost more weight than 36 similar patients who got a placebo along with their insulin, study leader Dr. Viral Shah of Indiana University School of Medicine reported at the American Diabetes Association meeting in Chicago. All of the patients were using automated insulin delivery systems and had a body mass index of 30 or higher, which is considered obese. One-third of the patients in the semaglutide group achieved all three of the study's goals: blood sugar in the target range of 70 to 180 mg/dL more than 70 percent of the time, dangerously low blood sugar less than 4 percent of the time, and body weight reduction of at least 5 percent. The average weight loss with semaglutide was 20 pounds (9 kg). No one in the placebo group achieved all three of these milestones, according to a report of the study published in NEJM Evidence. 'We hope that our trial will encourage the industry to conduct a regulatory approval trial so that this drug could be available as an adjunct to insulin therapy to optimize type 1 diabetes management,' Shah said in a statement.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Diabetic patients taking GLP-1s may face increased risk of eye disease, study suggests
Diabetes is the leading cause of vision loss in people between 18 and 64 years old, according to the American Diabetes Association — and the best way to prevent this is to control blood sugar levels. Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1s), such as Ozempic and Mounjaro, have become popular medications for controlling diabetes and treating obesity — but new Canadian research suggests they can also lead to a paradoxical side effect in the form of eye problems. Young Police Officer Dies By Suicide After 'Debilitating' Laser Eye Surgery Complications A retrospective study conducted from January 2020 to November 2023 included more than 139,000 diabetic patients, some of whom were taking GLP-1s for at least six months and some who were not taking the medications over a three-year period. The average age of the participants was 66 years old, and approximately 47% were women. Researchers found that the participants taking the weight-loss medications had twice the risk of developing neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) compared to the people not taking them. Read On The Fox News App "There have been growing reports of [eye] adverse events with GLP-1 receptor agonists, but no clear consensus regarding their impact on age-related macular degeneration (AMD) progression," study author Dr. Rajeev Muni, an ophthalmologist and vice-chair of clinical research in the Department of Ophthalmology and Vision Sciences at the University of Toronto, told Fox News Digital. 6 Simple Ways To Protect Your Hearing Now Before It's Too Late, According To Experts "In particular, we observed a dose-response relationship — the longer patients were exposed to these medications, the greater their risk appeared to be," added author Reut Shor, a researcher in the department of ophthalmology and vision sciences at the University of Toronto. The findings were published in the journal JAMA Ophthalmology. Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause of vision loss in those aged 50 and older in the developing world, according to the American Society of Retinal Specialists. Approximately 20 million adults in the U.S. have the condition. It mainly affects people's central vision, which means they have a challenging time seeing in front of them, but their peripheral vision is intact, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). There are two types of AMD – dry and wet. Dry AMD, the most common type, occurs when small yellow deposits of protein develop under the macula, but symptoms may not occur in the early stages, experts said. In about two out of every 10 cases, dry AMD develops into wet AMD — also known as neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD). With this more advanced type of disease, abnormal blood vessels form under the retina and start to leak, causing damage to the central part of the retina, known as the macula, according to WebMD. "When this occurs, symptoms include loss of central vision, distortions in vision and blank areas missing in the central vision," Nishika Reddy, M.D., assistant professor of ophthalmology at Moran Eye Center's Midvalley Health Center at the University of Utah, told Fox News Digital. (She was not part of the study.) Risk factors for nAMD include chronic heart failure, chronic kidney disease and diabetes – all of which often overlap with those who take GLP-1s, experts confirmed. The study authors cautioned that their findings should be taken in the context of the overall higher risk of eye disease in older people. The incidence of nAMD in the general population is about one in 1,000, and it doubled to two in 1,000 for the group taking the GLP-1s in the study. However, the overall absolute risk is still small, according to the researchers. The study's main limitation is that it was observational in nature, meaning the researchers could not confirm that GLP-1s medications cause neovascular age-related macular degeneration. The study also could not draw conclusions about younger populations, the researchers acknowledged. "Also, our findings apply only to diabetic patients aged 66 years or older, and cannot be directly generalized to non-diabetic individuals using GLP-1 receptor agonists for weight loss," Shor told Fox News Digital. GLP-1 receptors are present in the retina regardless of age or diabetes status — so theoretically, the risk could apply to younger populations. More research is needed to better understand why diabetic people on GLP-1s have increased eye disease, Shor said. Click Here To Sign Up For Our Health Newsletter "While the risk of developing macular degeneration while on a GLP-1 drug is low, patients should be aware of the possible eye side effects related to these types of medications," Reddy said. If someone notices blurred or distorted vision, straight lines appearing wavy, or any new blind spots, they should seek medical attention, according to Muni. For more Health articles, visit Early detection of eye disease is crucial, experts agree, as timely treatment can reduce the risk of vision loss. The study authors said they hope their findings will empower patients to monitor for early article source: Diabetic patients taking GLP-1s may face increased risk of eye disease, study suggests
Reuters
a day ago
- Health
- Reuters
Health Rounds: Novo Nordisk's semaglutide may help some with type 1 diabetes
June 27 (Reuters) - (This is an excerpt of the Health Rounds newsletter, where we present latest medical studies on Tuesdays and Thursdays. To receive the full newsletter in your inbox for free sign up here.) People with type 1 diabetes who need to lose weight can benefit from the blockbuster GLP-1 drug semaglutide currently approved only for type 2 diabetes, according to results from a small trial. Semaglutide is the active ingredient in Novo Nordisk's ( opens new tab diabetes drugs Ozempic and Rybelsus, as well as its weight-loss treatment Wegovy. In the first clinical trial testing the Novo drug in people with type 1 diabetes and obesity, the 36 patients who received weekly semaglutide injections along with their usual insulin spent more time in their target blood sugar range and lost more weight than 36 similar patients who got a placebo along with their insulin, study leader Dr. Viral Shah of Indiana University School of Medicine reported at the American Diabetes Association meeting in Chicago. All of the patients were using automated insulin delivery systems and had a body mass index of 30 or higher, which is considered obese. One-third of the patients in the semaglutide group achieved all three of the study's goals: blood sugar in the target range of 70 to 180 mg/dL more than 70% of the time, dangerously low blood sugar less than 4% of the time, and body weight reduction of at least 5%. The average weight loss with semaglutide was 20 pounds (9 kg). No one in the placebo group achieved all three of these milestones, according to a report of the study published in NEJM Evidence, opens new tab. "We hope that our trial will encourage the industry to conduct a regulatory approval trial so that this drug could be available as an adjunct to insulin therapy to optimize type 1 diabetes management," Shah said in a statement. The decades-old practice of having patients fast before surgery might not do what it's supposed to do, a new analysis suggests. Surgeons have patients stop eating hours before an operation in order to avoid so-called aspiration pneumonia, which happens when anesthesia causes vomiting and the vomit contents are inhaled into the lungs. The belief is that an empty stomach would lower that risk. For the analysis, researchers pooled data from 17 studies involving 990 patients who fasted before surgery and 801 who did not. Aspiration occurred in 0.5% of non-fasting patients and 0.7% of those who fasted, the researchers reported in Surgery, opens new tab. No particular fasting regimen was better than the others at preventing aspiration, the researchers found. 'At some point, almost everybody will undergo a procedure and there are universal policies in every healthcare facility that require some degree of fasting before surgery,' study leader Dr. Edward Livingston of the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA said in a statement. 'Fasting for long periods of time is extremely uncomfortable and patients really don't like to do it. Our research suggests that long periods of fasting may not be necessary.' (To receive the full newsletter in your inbox for free sign up here)
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Business Standard
2 days ago
- Health
- Business Standard
Stem cell breakthrough: New therapy raises hopes of curing type 1 diabetes
Living with type 1 diabetes is a constant battle where patients need to track blood sugar throughout the day and need insulin injections or pump-based therapies for life. But what if one day you could stop taking insulin for good? Today, it might sound impossible, but US-based scientists are working towards making it a reality. They have developed a new stem cell-derived treatment that has allowed the majority of patients with severe type 1 diabetes, who participated in the trial, to discontinue insulin use. The study titled Stem cell–derived, fully differentiated islets for Type 1 diabetes, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, tested an experimental treatment called zimislecel, developed by US biopharmaceutical company Vertex Pharmaceuticals. According to the research paper, it helped 83 per cent of participants achieve insulin independence and maintain stable blood sugar levels for at least one year, marking a potentially transformative step in diabetes care. What is zimislecel and what did the trial find? Researchers conducted a trial on 14 people with severe type 1 diabetes who suffered from hypoglycemic unawareness, a dangerous condition where blood sugar drops suddenly without warning signs. These patients are at risk of passing out, having seizures, or even dying from low blood sugar. According to the study, the participants received a stem cell-based infusion called zimislecel, which introduced lab-grown islet cells into their bodies. These new cells travelled to the liver and started working like natural insulin-producing cells. The findings show: 10 out of 12 surviving participants were able to completely stop using insulin within a year The remaining two patients needed significantly less insulin Patients spent over 70 per cent of their time within the healthy blood sugar range (70–180 mg/dL) Episodes of low blood sugar stopped within the first 90 days of treatment How zimislecel could change type 1 diabetes treatment According to the researchers, type 1 diabetes happens when the immune system mistakenly destroys insulin-producing islet cells in the pancreas. Without insulin, the body cannot regulate blood sugar levels, requiring lifelong insulin injections or pumps. Zimislecel changes this as it uses stem cells engineered to become islet cells, replacing what the immune system destroyed. Once inside the body, these cells settle in the liver and start regulating blood sugar like a healthy pancreas would. However, the participants in the trial also received glucocorticoid-free immunosuppressive therapy to prevent the body from attacking the newly introduced islet cells. This means that the patient might need to take immunosuppressants for life, which reduces immunity and increases the risk of infections. The study was presented at the American Diabetes Association's 85th Scientific Sessions held in Chicago from June 21–23. According to media reports, experts have cautioned that while this immunosuppression may be less risky than what's used for organ transplants, the long-term safety of zimislecel will need more years of follow-up. What's next for zimislecel and when could it be approved? Vertex Pharmaceuticals is now moving forward with phase 3 clinical trials of zimislecel. If larger studies confirm these results, the company may apply for approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as early as next year. The cost of the treatment is still unknown, but experts agree that even the possibility of freedom from insulin is a groundbreaking leap forward. Can this stem cell therapy help with type 2 diabetes too? Zimislecel is currently being tested only in people with type 1 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes, which typically develops later in life and is related to insulin resistance rather than insulin absence, is a different disease that may not respond the same way to this therapy. However, other researchers are experimenting with procedures to cure type 2 diabetes through cell therapy. For example, scientists in China developed an artificial version of the insulin-producing cells found in the pancreas, which were then transplanted into the patient during trials that produced positive results. More research is going on in this regard to confirm the efficacy and safety of this approach before it can be widely used as a treatment. For more health updates, follow #HealthWithBS
