Obesity is a public health problem that can increase an individual's risk of many other disorders including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and some types of cancer. Recently developed weight-loss drugs known as glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP1 RAs) could help combat this problem. These drugs include semaglutide (marketed as Ozempic or Wegovy), dulaglutide, and liraglutide. The World Health Organization has recently included them on their list of Essential Medicines.
Since many people are taking these drugs, scientists are also learning about their other effects, and potential benefits they may provide.
Some recent studies have suggested, for example, that semaglutide could work as a treatment for alcohol use disorder and alcohol-associated liver disease.
In an unrelated study recently reported in npj Metabolic Health and Disease, scientists showed that these drugs lower the levels of an enzyme that metabolizes alcohol, which leads to lower levels of toxic alcohol metabolites. Therefore, they may help protect the liver from alcohol-induced damage.
In another study published in JCI Insight, scientists suggested that semaglutide treatment improved outcomes for lung cancer patients who took the drug. People who take these medications have lower rates of several types of cancer. Survival rates improved among non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients who took GLP-1 RAs. This study also showed that in mouse models of lung cancer, these drugs could lower tumor burdens in obese but not normal-weight individuals.
Reporting in Pharmaceutics, scientists found that GLP-1 RAs could shield people from diabetic retinopathy, which is one of the main causes of blindness in adults. This study was performed on cells in culture, and needs to be confirmed with additional work, however.
Scientists also determined that semaglutide was able to significantly reduce cocaine-seeking behavior in a rat model. These findings, which were reported in European Neuropsychopharmacology. These findings have also not been confirmed in people, but they could provide a new treatment option for a condition that is hard to treat - cocaine addiction.
Research published in JAMA Network Open has also shown that after a seven-year follow-up period, patients treated with GLP-1 RAs had lower rates of dementia, ischemic stroke, and all-cause mortality during a seven-year follow-up.
There have been some warnings about these drugs. Scientists determined that while GLP1 RAs help people lose weight, which can be beneficial, they did not improve heart and lung function, which could indicate that they are not providing all of the cardiorespiratory benefits that weight loss has the potential to provide. This work was reported in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
A study reported in the Annals of Internal Medicine determined that people using GLP-1 RAs had a higher risk of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).
Another study showed that while some types of cancer risk were reduced in people taking GLP-1 RAs, the risk of kidney cancer increased in these individuals.
Many adults are using these drugs, with as many as one in four diabetic adults estimated to be taking them. We will certainly find out more about their effects over time if the research is supported. Reports have suggested, however, that if they become widely available, these drugs could save millions of lives.
