Yet Another Benefit of Weight-loss Drugs?

Agonists are compounds that mimic particular neurotransmitters. Glucagon is a hormone produced by the pancreas's Islets of Langerhans. It operates in the opposite fashion to insulin (also produced in the Islets of Langerhans), by increasing blood sugar levels. Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists are a group of synthetics, some of which help folk lose weight, consequently reducing the incidence of heart attacks and strokes. Semaglutide (Ozempic or Wegovy) does this by encouraging a feeling of satiation. A large and comprehensive analysis of the impact of GLP-1 receptor agonists, suggests they could also have significant benefits to kidney patients. The meta-analysis involved more than 85,000 patients. It included folk with type-2 diabetes, as well as other overweight/obese subjects with cardiovascular disease without this condition. Seven different GLP-1 receptor agonists were used including semaglutide, dulaglutide and liraglutide. Compared with placebo, GLP-1 receptor agonists reduced kidney failure risk by 16%. They also prevented end-stage kidney disease in 22% of cases. The combined reduction in the risk of kidney failure, worsening kidney function and death due to kidney disease was 19%. GLP-1 receptor agonists also reduced the risks of heart attack deaths, a non-fatal heart attack or a non-fatal stroke. World-wide, chronic kidney disease (CKD) is thought to affect 850 million people. It seems as if GLP-1 receptor agonists use will boom to an even greater extent (). It's obviously good news that the potential benefits of GLP-1 receptor agonists on CKD have been largely confirmed. There are, however, looming problems. Ozempic and Wegovy are currently in short supply. There are already reports of folk attempting to buy these from dubious web sites. There's, of course, no certainty that the material they purchase is a) appropriate for the buyer or b) even the active compound. It would also be wholly inappropriate for semagglutide to become simply a lifestyle choice. People need to the guided in terms of sticking to a healthy diet and appropriate exercise regime. A total medicalisation of weight problems with its attendant disease risks would be a) expensive and b) inappropriate.