Not too long ago, Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk shared the preliminary information about CagriSema, the following technology of semaglutide, bought as Ozempic for the therapy of diabetes, and Wegovy for weight problems, as a game-changer. It has been predicted to scale back weight reduction by about 25 per cent in half the time that Wegovy takes. However can these new medication substitute standard therapies for diabetes on a big scale?
Thatâs the query that Dr KP Singh, former college, the Division of Endocrinology, PGI and at present the Director, Endocrinology, Fortis Hospital, Mohali, has raised, arguing why we must always not ignore standard medication and therapies. âGLP-1 receptor agonists like semaglutide have revolutionised the method to treating each diabetes and weight problems. However remember that most sufferers are nonetheless managed by oral drugs to deal with diabetes and never injections, at the very least within the early phases,â he explains.
Who ought to use these medication?
These medication arenât merely âweight reduction picturesâ, carried out on a whim. There are sufficient examples of how they’ve gone flawed in individuals who merely wished to knock off the kilos and who had been riddled with negative effects like gastro-intestinal issues. Final 12 monthsâs examine within the journal Weight problems had revealed that of individuals prescribed weight-loss medication, simply 44 per cent had been nonetheless taking them after three months and solely 19 per cent after one 12 months. One other examine confirmed that those that stopped therapy with Mounjaro (one other GLP-1 drug) regained round 60 per cent of their misplaced weight. Simply as these medication drive you to drop some weight, their withdrawal can push you to return to previous habits sooner than you suppose. Apart from, are you able to proceed on these medication lifelong?
Frankly, these are medical interventions meant for sufferers with diabetes, weight problems or weight-related well being circumstances and are particularly useful for sufferers with coronary heart illness. These drugs will not be acceptable for beauty weight reduction or short-term use.
Is the burden loss dialog overplayed?
The medication are very efficient with scientific trials of semaglutide exhibiting common weight reductions of round 15 per cent in scientific trials. Nevertheless, we should keep in mind that weight problems is a fancy power illness requiring complete administration. These drugs work greatest as a part of a holistic method together with dietary modifications, bodily exercise and behavioural adjustments. The maximal profit of those medication requires steady long-term use and grading the dose over time to keep up or attain a selected response or to lower the danger of hostile results.
Are standard therapies for diabetes changing into irrelevant?
No. Typical therapies nonetheless have a significant function to play in diabetes administration as these injectable medication must be thought of first-line remedy in sufferers with coronary heart illness and those that require an injectable treatment from the get-go. Regardless of GLP-1, many sufferers would require a number of drugs to manage their blood sugars and obtain their objective.
Additionally, pregnant ladies, sufferers with acute problems from diabetes, or sufferers who want to manage their blood sugar ranges quickly (e.g. main as much as main surgical procedure) nonetheless require conventional diabetes drugs like insulin. Sufferers with pancreatic illness, Sort 1 diabetes, gallstones or these with tumours of the endocrine glands mustn’t take GLP1 medication.
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How is CagriSema completely different from Ozempic and Wegovy?
The energetic ingredient of Ozempic and Wegovy is semaglutide, a glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1 RAs). This mimics the intestine hormone GLP-1, which promotes the manufacturing of insulin, regulates blood sugar ranges, slows the emptying of the abdomen, and impacts the realm of the mind that controls satiety. CagriSema, along with mimicking GLP-1, mimics two different intestine hormones. The primary is amylin, a hormone that’s co-secreted with insulin within the pancreas and regulates blood sugar ranges, slows digestion and enhances satiety. It additionally mimics calcitonin, a hormone that regulates calcium ranges within the blood. Calcium performs a job in insulin secretion.
Looking forward to CagriSema â it’s at present below investigation and our centre is a significant website for key scientific trials investigating its use in lots of scientific circumstances. The information from early-phase trials is promising, however we should keep scientific rigour in assessing all new therapies. We’ll want the outcomes from the continued giant trials to evaluate the efficacy and long-term security profile of CagriSema and look ahead to approval from regulatory our bodies.
These drugs symbolize essential advances in our therapeutic arsenal, however theyâre not magic bullets. The way forward for metabolic well being administration lies in personalised approaches that fastidiously match the correct therapy to the correct affected person on the proper time, eating regimen and train.
