Novo Nordisk reported on 7 September that 40.4% of children aged 6 to under 12 who took once-weekly semaglutide in its STEP Young trial were no longer classified as having obesity after 68 weeks, compared with none of the children given placebo. Every child in both arms also followed a reduced-calorie diet and an exercise … Read more
Among 216,293 adults with type 2 diabetes, starting an SGLT2 inhibitor was associated with a lower five-year risk of atrial fibrillation than starting a GLP-1 receptor agonist: 4.3% against 4.8%. Starting both classes together came in at 4.2%, statistically indistinguishable from SGLT2 alone. For anyone weighing the two classes with an eye on heart rhythm … Read more
For people with type 2 diabetes who already have nerve damage in their feet, a matched comparison of 39,540 US patients found fewer foot ulcers on GLP-1 receptor agonists than on DPP-4 inhibitors — and nearly twice the rate of Charcot neuroarthropathy, a joint-destroying complication of the foot. Amputation and bone-infection rates were the same … Read more
A meta-analysis of 19 randomised trials behind semaglutide, tirzepatide and liraglutide reports a gap between what those trials recorded and what their own bloodwork showed. Investigators logged malnutrition as an adverse event in 0.12% of participants. Laboratory screening in the same trials found abnormally low lymphocyte counts in 2.90% of people taking active drug, against … Read more
A review in JAMA Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery has pulled together what is known about GLP-1 drugs and obstructive sleep apnea, and its bottom line is a qualified one: the drugs work, and they work less well than CPAP. Across six meta-analyses the reduction in the apnea-hypopnea index ran from 5.7 to 21.9 events per … Read more
A network meta-analysis published in Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolism pooled 43 studies covering 932,380 patients and compared bariatric surgery against GLP-1 receptor agonists on hard cardiovascular outcomes. Surgery was associated with reductions in major adverse cardiovascular events, heart failure and myocardial infarction. The drugs were associated with a reduction in major adverse cardiovascular events but … Read more
A study published this month in Ophthalmology Retina looked for a link between GLP-1 drugs and non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy, a sudden and usually permanent loss of vision in one eye. Across 19,505 adults with type 2 diabetes it found 29 cases in total, and could not rule out either a real effect or … Read more
Metformin and a GLP-1 receptor agonist are one of the most common drug pairings in type 2 diabetes. A case report and literature review published in Kidney360 describes what happens when that combination goes wrong: a 59-year-old woman developed severe metformin-associated lactic acidosis alongside ketoacidosis, while her blood glucose stayed close to normal — the … Read more