Is this the new Ozempic? Scientists are developing a weight loss drug that reduces appetite but doesn’t make you nauseous
Scientists believe they are on the verge of creating the “holy grail” of weight loss drugs that reduce appetite without the nauseating side effects.
Early studies show that a drug can effectively “turn on” certain cells in the nervous system that play an important role in maintaining energy balance and sugar control.
It could ultimately rival the likes of Wegovy and Mounjaro – two jabs that have already transformed the future of weight loss and helped millions worldwide lose weight.
While these two are very effective, they can cause debilitating side effects such as nausea and nausea, which means some people cannot continue taking them.
New research now shows that activating certain cells in the body’s nervous system, called Neurokinin 2 Receptors (NK2R), increases calorie burning and reduces appetite without any sign of nausea.
This technique was also shown to reduce appetite without losing muscle mass, another potential side effect of current treatments.
Researchers from the University of Copenhagen tested the effect of activating NK2Rs which they believed play a role in maintaining energy balance and glucose regulation.
Trials first conducted on mice showed that activating the receptor safely increases calorie burning and also reduces appetite without any signs of nausea.
It could eventually rival the likes of Wegovy and Mounjaro – two jabs that have already transformed the future of weight loss and helped millions worldwide lose weight
According to them, this is especially important because our bodies seem to burn fewer calories at rest than they did a few decades ago.
Further research in primates with type 2 diabetes and obesity showed that NK2R activation reduced body weight and reversed their diabetes by increasing insulin sensitivity and lowering blood sugar, triglycerides and cholesterol.
Scientists say the findings, published in the journal Nature, represent “a major step forward” in the development of new drug therapies for people with both type 2 diabetes and obesity.
Zach Gerhart-Hines, associate professor of metabolic research, said: ‘While GLP-1-based therapies have revolutionized patient care for obesity and type 2 diabetes, safely utilizing energy expenditure and controlling appetite without nausea remains two holy grails in this field.
“By addressing these needs, we believe our discovery will advance current approaches to make more tolerable, effective treatments accessible to millions of additional individuals.”
Earlier this month, Britain’s medicines watchdog received reports of 10 deaths linked to the use of weight-loss jabs, it revealed.
There have also been 7,228 reports of nausea, vomiting and diarrhea associated with drugs such as Wegovy and Ozempic.
Of these, 68 patients were admitted to hospital, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said.
NHS-backed data source OpenPrescribe shows rising prescriptions for semaglutide, the drug in Ozempic and Wegovy
The figures are based on users or health professionals telling regulators about side effects of the drugs, known as glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs).
A reported death or adverse event does not necessarily mean it was caused by the drug, just that someone suspected it might have been the case.
Underlying or concurrent diseases and other medications that the patients may have been taking at the time of their death may be responsible and such events may also be coincidental, the journal Chemist and Druggist said.
The MHRA last week urged healthcare professionals to ‘report cases of misuse’ and ‘inform patients of the common and serious side effects associated with GLP-1RAs’.
At the time it said it was aware of 46 hospital admissions on August 16 – suggesting there had been a further 22 reports in two months, representing a 48 per cent increase.
The alert warned healthcare professionals to “be aware that there have been reports of potential misuse of GLP-1RAs for illicit indications such as aesthetic weight loss.”
The regulator said that ‘healthcare providers should be alert to signs of abuse of these medicines in their patients, warn these patients that they are at risk of side effects and report any side effects.’
It added that patients should also be warned about the risk of counterfeit GLP-1RA weight loss medications if they have not been prescribed by a registered healthcare professional, and that they should be aware that some counterfeit medications appear to be insulin contain.