Ozempic, already famous for helping thousands of Americans lose weight, is now considered a treatment for a host of other serious health problems.
In a new study, doctors found that this blockbuster drug could reduce the risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS) by up to 80 percent.
Meanwhile, researchers are also launching research projects to determine whether the drug could alleviate sleep apnea.
The researchers behind the MS study urged immediate research to see if Ozempic could be a potential treatment for the neurodegenerative disorder.
The findings could mean an even bigger financial boon for the pharmaceutical company behind the drug, Novo Nordisk, whose obesity drug market is worth $80 billion this year.
Doctors even went so far as to suggest that Ozempic’s drug semaglutide should be investigated as a possible treatment for MS patients.
The latest findings add to previous claims of broad benefits, such as reducing the risk of heart disease, kidney disease and liver problems. There are also suggestions that they could reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s,
In the MS study, researchers at the University of Nebraska compared reports of MS in patients who had taken 15 weight-loss medications, including semaglutide (the generic name for Ozempic).
The results showed that those using semaglutide had a 76 percent lower risk of developing MS compared to patients taking the other 14 drugs in the database, while for those using dulgaglutide or Trulicity, this was 83 percent lower. 5 percent.
A separate report also revealed that Eli Lilly, the pharmaceutical company working on tirzepatide, has started a trial investigating how its drug affects sufferers of sleep apnea, a common sleep disease.
The condition, which affects around 39 million adults, causes patients to temporarily stop breathing while they sleep.
The study enrolled nearly 500 patients who took the drug Mounjaro once a week. The trial was due to end last month and results are expected to be published in the coming months.
Weight loss caused by the drug is expected to improve the condition, which can be worsened by excess fat in the neck area, which increases pressure in the upper airways.
Dr. Angela Fitch, current president of the Obesity Medicine Association, said, “We already know it will work, it’s just a matter of how well.”
“It will be interesting to see whether those who lose more weight during the study achieve better remission of their sleep apnea and how much weight loss is needed to put it into remission.”
It comes amid a gold rush for weight-loss treatments, with prescriptions for Ozempic and similar drugs rising 300 percent between 2019 and 2022 alone.
They work by stimulating GLP-1 receptors in the brain, making someone feel full even after a long period without eating anything.
This promise (of losing weight with just one shot a week) is what has fueled its popularity.
However, there are fears that the risks are being overlooked: a DailyMail.com analysis of FDA data found 117 deaths related to the drugs recorded since their launch.
They included a woman in her 20s who was diagnosed with an “intestinal mass” and another patient who was pregnant.
None of the deaths have been confirmed to have been caused by the drugs, but patients have reported associations.
In many cases, the purported benefits are directly related to the drug’s ability to help people lose weight quickly.
Obesity can, over time, damage a variety of tissues in the body, increasing the risk of developing a wide variety of diseases.
However, some research suggests that some of the broad benefits may be due to reasons other than weight loss.
The drug stimulated GLP-1 receptors found in other areas of the body, including the blood-brain barrier.
Scientists have suggested that this may have other effects, including protecting nerve cells from damage.
In the MS study, scientists analyzed medical data from more than 600,000 patients who used 15 weight-loss medications since 2003.
They analyzed data for popular drugs such as semaglutide and tirzepatide, as well as others related to weight loss, such as metformin and bupropion.
Writing in the article, published in Therapeutic advances in neurological disordersthe University of Nebraska team wrote: ‘Our findings suggest possible consideration for repurposing antidiabetic drugs that induce weight loss, including semaglutide… for MS.’
“This deserves validation through rigorous methodologies and prospective studies.”
The study was funded by the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
Estimates show that the weight loss drug market has increased from $3 billion in 2022 to more than $80 billion today.
Novo Nordisk, behind Ozempic, was the first to reach the market. But Eli Lilly is catching up with its own weight-loss drug, tirzepatide, which is available as Mounjaro. Reports last month suggested that its weight-loss drug, Zepbound, had already surpassed Wegovy in terms of prescriptions.
So far, Ozempic has only been approved for type 2 diabetics, but it is often prescribed off-label for weight loss.
Its sister drug Wegovy, which uses the same drug semaglutide but at a lower dose, has been approved to treat weight loss and earlier this year also got the green light for patients with heart disease.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the US, and it is estimated that more than 120 million adults suffer from the condition.