As Ozempic use grows, lesser-known dangers emerge – Occasions of India
One in eight adults within the US have taken the burden loss medicine like Ozempic, based on survey evaluation. However greater than 30 % of these drop the meds after simply 4 weeks, based on a research by Blue Well being Intelligence, a US healthcare knowledge firm, earlier than the drug can have a significant impression on their well being.Together with weight reduction, Ozempic, which can also be bought below the model identify Wegovy, has additionally gained a repute for its disagreeable negative effects. The commonest negative effects individuals report are nausea, diarrhea or different digestive issues.Imaginative and prescient modifications, erectile dysfunction and temper modifications have additionally been reported, and you will have heard of facet impact phenomena like ʺOzempic faceʺ or ʺOzempic buttʺ (sagging in all of the flawed locations).However what’s worrying medical professionals extra are stories of extreme medical sicknesses after taking the burden loss drug, additionally known as semaglutide or GLP-1 medicine, for a number of months.ʺThe most regarding negative effects embrace pancreatitis and the consequences on musculoskeletal issues,ʺ Penny Ward, a physician-doctor at Kings Faculty London, UK, instructed DW.A UK regulator has highlighted doubtlessly lethal negative effects of acute pancreatitis — an irritation of the pancreas — after at the very least ten deaths had been linked to this situation amongst British customers of GLP-1 medicine.
Unintended effects after scientific trials ‘commonplace’
GLP-1 medicine have been on the US market since 2017. Ozempic was first permitted to deal with kind 2 diabetes, whereas Wegovy was permitted as a weight-loss remedy in 2021.Medical trials testing their security and effectiveness confirmed them to be protected sufficient for his or her supposed customers. However since being launch to the general public, individuals have been reporting new negative effects that hadn’t appeared within the authentic scientific trials.Ward stated it is ʺnot unusualʺ for added hostile reactions to be famous as soon as a product goes into scientific use. ʺRarer negative effects could emerge as extra sufferers take these medicines in scientific observe,ʺ she stated, “merely because of the a lot bigger variety of individuals handled than had been included within the scientific improvement trials.ʺThis is why we proceed to watch the security of medicines available on the market,ʺ Ward added.A serious research printed within the journal Nature Medication in January 2025 got down to systematically analyse all of the reported well being dangers of over 215,000 individuals taking GLP-1 medicine to deal with diabetes.The researchers discovered dangers of taking GLP-1 medicine past these beforehand acknowledged in scientific trials, together with an 11 % elevated danger in arthritis and a 146 % elevated danger of pancreatitis. Elevated dangers of low blood strain, dizziness or fainting, kidney stones and kidney irritation had been additionally reported.The research additionally highlighted well-known dangers of a number of gastrointestinal issues, backing up quite a few previous research displaying an elevated danger of gastrointestinal negative effects.
Extra analysis on negative effects wanted
Final yr, individuals additionally began reporting that they’d gone blind after taking Wegovy. Researchers who investigated the matter discovered that GLP-1 medicine are related to an elevated danger of a illness affecting the optic nerve, known as nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION).Whereas the situation is uncommon, affecting an estimated 10 in 100,000 individuals, a research printed within the journal JAMA Ophthalmology discovered that individuals with diabetes taking GLP-1 medicine are 4 instances extra prone to develop NAION than the inhabitants common.ʺThis analysis does counsel an affiliation between semaglutide therapy and one type of sight-threatening optic neuropathy, however this may ideally be examined in bigger research,ʺ Graham McGeown, an honorary professor of physiology at Queen’s College Belfast, UK.Specialists say far more analysis is required in consultant populations to higher perceive the negative effects of GLP-1 drug and their real-world dangers for individuals taking them.ʺFor instance, [more data is needed about] these taking the drug for weight problems, who want a better dose in comparison with individuals with diabetes, and taking it for longer than two years,ʺ stated Karolina Skibicka, a neuroendocrinologist at College of Calgary, Canada.ʺBut particularly, we’d like research which embrace girls. Girls present distinctive side-effects to many pharmacotherapies, and nonetheless [in] most research girls are sometimes underrepresented at numerous levels of testing,ʺ Skibicka added.
Advantages outweigh the dangers
Regardless of issues about new negative effects, Skibicka instructed DW, ʺthe record of advantages for this drug, if taken as prescribed, remains to be considerably longer and extra impactful than dangers. It has the promise of saving and enhancing many lives.ʺAs such, Skibicka stated it was ʺunlikelyʺ that the looks of uncommon however severe negative effects can be grounds to create new, stricter suggestions for prescribing GLP-drugs.Researchers are additionally discovering stunning ‘useful’ negative effects of taking GLP-1 dugs, too.Research present that GLP-1 drug use is related to a diminished danger of dementia and Alzheimer’s illness. Researchers are additionally investigating whether or not the medicine might be used to deal with substance use issues.The January research additionally reported diminished dangers of blood coagulation and clotting issues, cardiorenal and metabolic issues, and a number of other respiratory circumstances in diabetic sufferers taking GLP-1 medicine.The authors speculate that GLP-1 medicine would possibly affect the danger of so many circumstances for 2 causes: first as a result of they act on many components of the physique, and second as a result of they deal with weight problems, which contributes to a number of well being points.
