Weight-loss injections could provide a “fountain of youth” after trials showed they address the underlying cause behind a range of chronic diseases.
Landmark studies presented at the world’s largest cardiology conference showed that drugs like Wegovy and Ozempic have “far-reaching benefits beyond what we initially imagined.”
Doctors say there is growing evidence that these drugs, which are popular with celebrities, could slow biological aging, helping people “live longer and better.”
A series of studies presented to 30,000 delegates yesterday shows that weekly injections can prevent heart failure, reduce Covid deaths, reverse kidney disease and lower previously untreatable high blood pressure.
Experts added that the “incredibly exciting” findings mean that they are “moving from weight loss drugs” to “drugs that will attack diseases.”
Scientists also say they are now confident the drug works by reducing inflammation, which is linked to cancer, diabetes, dementia and heart disease.
Mounting evidence suggests that weight-loss drugs such as Wegovy and Oxempic could slow biological aging, helping people “live longer and better,” doctors say
Wegovy and Ozempic work by stimulating the body to produce a hormone called GLP-1 that is naturally released from the intestines after meals.
Dr. Harlan Krumholz, a professor of medicine at Yale University School of Medicine, said they should now be seen as a multipurpose drug and a “health promoter,” rather than just a weight-loss aid.
He added that the results suggest that the key ingredient in these drugs, semaglutide, can slow down the biological clock of cells, effectively reducing a person’s physical age.
Speaking at the European Society of Cardiology Congress in London, he said: “Is it a fountain of youth? I would say that if you are substantially improving someone’s cardiometabolic health then you are putting them in a position to live longer and better.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if improving people’s health in this way actually slows the aging process.”
In the world’s largest presentation of research into the impact of weight-loss injections on heart health, results from 11 studies found it acted as a “thermostat” to reduce baseline inflammation.
Professor Subodh Verma from the University of Toronto (lead author of one of the studies) said this was significant as there are no anti-inflammatory drugs for heart failure.
“Semaglutide acts independently of changes in body weight to reduce inflammation,” he added. “Even in people who lost 5, 10 or 15 percent of body weight, the degree of reduction in inflammation was the same.”
John Deanfield, professor of cardiology at University College London, added that it was time to stop treating these drugs as “lifestyle drugs”.
Studies presented to 30,000 delegates show that weekly injections can prevent heart failure, reduce Covid deaths, reverse kidney disease and lower previously untreatable high blood pressure.
He said: “Not only can you prevent or delay an individual disease through early intervention, you could also alter the prognosis of a whole range of diseases associated with ageing that we would all like to avoid. It’s incredibly exciting.”
Another study showed that semaglutide caused a “treatment-resistant” drop in blood pressure, helping a third of patients in whom the medication had previously failed.
There are even suggestions it could help in future pandemics after a trial involving 17,000 people, which began before the coronavirus outbreak, found those taking semaglutide were 34 per cent less likely to die when infected with Covid-19 compared to those not taking the drug.
Study leader Dr Jeremy Samuel Faust of Harvard Medical School said the effect was “vaccine-like” and could be applied to many other infections.
The injections, which mimic the appetite-reducing action of a hormone called GLP-1, have been popularised by a host of celebrities from Chief X Officer Elon Musk to former Prime Minister Boris Johnson for their weight-loss potential.
Wegovy, currently prescribed for obesity and type 2 diabetes on the NHS, has been shown to reduce heart attacks and strokes by a fifth.
Semaglutide, currently prescribed on the NHS for obesity and type 2 diabetes, has already been shown to reduce deaths from heart attacks and strokes by a fifth.
Dr Krumholz said: “This calls into question whether or not these drugs should be reserved for people with the most severe forms of obesity.”
And Dr Sonya Babu-Narayan, associate medical director at the British Heart Foundation and a consultant cardiologist, said the research was “cause for celebration”, adding: “The studies show that semaglutide not only leads to substantial weight loss, but is also effective in saving and improving the lives of people living with heart disease.
“This could be a game changer for patients with a variety of different heart conditions.”