Scientists at King’s College London have discovered a highly effective new drug for obesity. It is called Semaglutide and is a drug used to treat type 2 diabetes. It turned out that this remedy is more than twice as effective as existing drugs for weight loss, and comes close to the effectiveness of surgical interventions. However, the treatment has a number of unpleasant side effects.
According to the TV channel “Science“, Scientists published the results of their experiments in The New England Journal of Medicine. The experiment was carried out on 2 thousand obese volunteers from 16 countries. Some of the volunteers received injections of Semaglutide, and some received a placebo. At the same time, both groups underwent a course of lifestyle correction aimed at weight loss.
At the end of the tests, the placebo group appeared to have lost clinically insignificant amounts of weight. But for those who were injected, the effects of weight loss were pronounced. After 68 weeks of drug treatment, the participants lost an average of 14.9% of their weight, and more than a third of the group lost 20% of their weight.
Semaglutide suppresses appetite due to its effects on the brain. Also, in addition to losing weight, participants experienced a decrease in various cardiometabolic risk factors. They reported improved quality of life.
But it also turned out that Semaglutide has very significant disadvantages. This includes nausea and diarrhea. Although these “side effects” were temporary, nearly 60 participants were forced to refuse treatment because of them. Another problem is that Semaglutide must be injected, it does not yet exist in tablets.
And the last – scientists do not yet have data on how long the effect of losing weight after Semaglutide is. But at least one of the participants in the experiment said that after the course of treatment, the weight began to return.
But if further research on Semaglutide shows good results, it could still be used in the treatment of obesity, the researchers said. And they emphasize that the best way not to gain excess weight is proper nutrition and an active lifestyle.
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