People have lost over 50 pounds by taking a new FDA-approved drug

Since it can be taken orally, it is much easier for the patient to adhere to the treatment regimen. (CREDIT: Creative Commons)

Obese people who received a weekly dose of tirzepatide, a new GIP/GLP-1 receptor agonist sold under the brand name Mounjaro, lost about 52 pounds on average, according to a new study published in the New England Journal. medicine.

A study found that tirzepatide, recently approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, can help adults without diabetes lose weight.

“In this study, about nine out of 10 obese people lost weight,” said Anya Yastreboff, MD, assistant professor of medicine (endocrinology) and pediatrics (pediatric endocrinology) at the Yale School of Medicine and lead author of the study. .

The study included 2539 obese participants who were randomized to receive placebo, tirzepatide 5 mg, tirzepatide 10 mg, or tirzepatide 15 mg for 72 weeks. Study participants had an average body mass index (BMI) of 38 kg/m2 and an average weight of 231 lbs.

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At the end of the study, those taking tirzepatide 15 mg had a mean weight loss of 22.5%. People without diabetes lost an average of 15% to 20.9% of their baseline body weight during clinical trials.

Tirzepatide showed improvement in all predetermined cardiometabolic parameters. According to the authors of the study, treatment with all three doses of tirzepatide resulted in significant and sustained weight loss. Adverse effects were mainly gastrointestinal and included nausea, vomiting and diarrhea and mainly occurred during the dose escalation phase.

Nothing has produced such weight loss other than surgery, said Dr. Robert Gabbay, chief scientist and medical officer for the American Diabetes Association.

Jastreboff, PI of the SURMOUNT-1 site at Yale University, presented the results of the study at the American Diabetes Association scientific sessions in New Orleans.

“These results are an important step forward in the potential expansion of effective therapeutic options for people with obesity,” said Yastreboff, who is director of weight management and obesity prevention at the Yale Stress Center and co-director of the Yale Center for Weight Management. “Obesity should be treated like any other chronic disease – with effective and safe approaches that target the underlying mechanisms of the disease; these results highlight that tirsepatide can do just that.”

Anya Yastreboff, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine (Endocrinology) and Pediatrics (Pediatric Endocrinology) at Yale School of Medicine (TEaching: Yale School of Medicine)

Tirzepatide is not currently approved by the FDA as an anti-obesity drug for the treatment of obesity. Tirzepatide has been approved by the FDA for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and is now commercially available for this use.

The trial sponsor, Eli Lilly, is working with the FDA on a timetable for the approval of tirzepatide for the treatment of obesity.

Side effects

Phase I and Phase II preclinical trials have shown that tirzepatide exhibits side effects similar to those of other known GLP-1 receptor agonists such as dulaglutide. These effects occur mainly in the gastrointestinal tract.

In this 72-week study in obese participants, 5 mg, 10 mg, or 15 mg of tirzepatide once a week provided significant and sustained weight loss. (CREDIT: New England Journal of Medicine)

The most commonly observed nausea, diarrhea and vomiting, the frequency of which increases with increasing dose (i.e. the higher the probability, the higher the dose). The number of patients who stopped taking tirzepatide also increased with increasing dose: in patients taking 15 mg, the treatment discontinuation rate was 25% compared to 5.1% in patients taking 5 mg and 11.1% in patients taking dulaglutide.

To a lesser extent, patients also noted a decrease in appetite. Other reported side effects were dyspepsia, constipation, abdominal pain, dizziness, and hypoglycemia.

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Note. Materials provided above by the Yale School of Medicine. Content can be edited for style and length.

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