United States: The study envisioned that obesity jabs could lower the chances of heart attacks and strokes in people even if they do not lose much weight.
More about the finding
Researchers examined semaglutide, which is a prescription drug given by the NHS, as a fast-acting medication for obesity since it suppresses appetite and is sold under the brand names Wegovy and Ozempic.
What more have the researchers stated?
They stated that the weekly shots could also be the best for the cardiovascular health of millions of adults. The latest results are not in a journal yet but have been showcased at a conference, BBC reported.
Prof John Deanfield, who was in charge of the research, claimed that semaglutide could be helpful in maintaing blood sugar, blood pressure or inflammation, and at the same time, it could have advantages for the heart muscle and vessels.
How was the study conducted?
The research, being conducted by University College London (UCL) with 17,604 people over 44 from 41 countries, had already proved the heart benefits.
The same Select trial, funded by Novo Nordisk, gives some data that indicates there are benefits for a person’s weight and how much he loses, although it does not matter if the starting weight is large or small.
According to Prof Deanfield, who presented the study at the European Congress on Obesity (ECO) in Italy that the findings had “important clinical implications”.
According to BBC reports, he said, “We finally figured out that there was a drug class that would change the biology of this disease to benefit a lot of people. That was a major breakthrough, and it has transformed cardiology practice,” BBC News reported.
“We now have this class of drugs which could equally transform many chronic diseases of aging,” he added.
Possible side-effects and importance of such drugs- Experts
According to experts who have previously warned against these medicines, they should not consider them as a quick fix or a replacement for eating right or physical exercises. Moreover, it must be taken under a medical supervision.
According to Prof Deanfield, the drug has a “potentially important place” in the treatment for obesity, as BBC News reported.
He said, “There are many people living overweight or with obesity, who have struggled to improve their weight, and these drugs, for that reason alone, produce an important clinical opportunity,” and, “But these are drugs that will also improve their background medical problems. That really is quite exciting.”
However, according to Prof Rameen Shakur, an expert in cardiovascular medicine at the University of Brighton, who was not involved in the research, caution is required indeed.
He said, “We are unclear on the mechanism and biological process by which semaglutide might reduce cardiac mortality per se,” and “I don’t think it is commercially realistic to put whole populations on a medical therapy until you know how the biological system works.”
“Interestingly, there remains a risk of pancreatitis and some rare thyroid cancers, which is often not stated, and this should also be monitored during the course of patient use.”