HEALTH NOTES: MoS victory as drug chiefs approve breakthrough type 2 diabetes jab tirzepatide
Medicines chiefs approved a breakthrough jab for type 2 diabetes after urgent calls for it by The Mail last Sunday.
NICE, the UK prescription watchdog, gave the green light to the weight-loss drug tirzepatide on Friday, just days after the MoS revealed that scammers were using the social media app TikTok to spread dangerous counterfeits to desperate diabetes patients hit by a shortage of the similar slimming drug, semaglutide.
Tirzepatide suppresses appetite, which causes weight loss, and increases insulin levels, the hormone that regulates blood sugar levels. Both are essential to control type 2 diabetes.
In studies, a third of patients taking the drug lost more than 20 percent of their body weight within a year, making it twice as effective as semaglutide, the shot currently approved for type 2 diabetes.
Since semaglutide was approved for weight loss in March, patients with diabetes have struggled to get their hands on it.
NICE, the British prescription watchdog, gave the green light to the weight-loss drug tirzepatide on Friday
The number of smokers is falling to a historic low
The number of smokers in Britain has fallen to the lowest on record.
About 12.9 percent of over-18s smoke cigarettes, compared to 13.3 percent in 2021 and 20 percent in 2011 when data began, according to the Office for National Statistics. It means that about 6.4 million adults smoke.
Deborah Arnott, public health expert and CEO of anti-smoking charity Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), said much of the decline is likely due to the increased use of vaping, adding that it was a “very successful tool to quit smoking’. ‘.
In 2019, the government pledged to make Britain virtually smoke-free by 2030 – with less than five percent of Britons smoking cigarettes.
But last year a Cancer Research report warned that Britain would need at least another decade to reach this target.
The number of smokers in Britain has fallen to the lowest on record
Patients with kidney disease could soon be given a daily pill that slows the progression of the deadly condition, after new drug empagliflozin was approved by health chiefs.
Chronic kidney disease – where damage to the kidneys causes them to not work properly – affects seven million people in Britain. It can be caused by a number of conditions, such as diabetes, heart disease and obesity, as well as alcohol abuse.
Over time, patients may eventually need a kidney transplant.
But studies show that patients given empagliflozin were significantly less likely to suffer irreversible kidney damage or end up in the hospital with complications caused by the disease.
The drug works by increasing the amount of sugar and salt that pass into the urine through the kidneys. A build-up of these substances can damage the organ.
Last week, the UK drug safety regulator MHRA approved empagliflozin for use. Experts now hope health chiefs will agree to fund it for all NHS patients.