Ozempic is one of the diabetes medications that contain the active drug semaglutide.Image Lee Smith / File Photo via Reuters
This is the opinion of the American journal Science taste-defining annual overview. Just as Time annually names a person of the year, Science selects the biggest ‘breakthroughs of the year’ in December. And although semaglutide has been on the market as a diabetes drug since 2005, 2023 was the year in which the drug made its breakthrough as a weight-loss aid.
This is due to a series of publications that indicate that Ozempic and Wegovy, in addition to about 15 percent weight loss, also provide real health benefits. For example, a large study last summer showed that people who lost weight with semaglutide have a 20 percent lower risk of heart attacks and strokes. Another study, into semaglutide against kidney disease in diabetes patients, was even stopped prematurely because the results were so good.
Over by author
Maarten Keulemans is a science editor at de Volkskrant, specializing in microlife, climate, archeology and genetic engineering. He was named journalist of the year for his corona reporting.
But, Science warns: there are also disadvantages. The drug is expensive, has side effects such as nausea, insomnia and diarrhea, and there are suspicions that there may also be more serious side effects, such as pancreatitis. And, also an insight from last year: whoever stops, can still gain weight again.
Semaglutide imitates GLP-1, an intestinal hormone that causes those who take it – via a lancing device or as a pill – to have less appetite. “One thing is clear,” says Science, “these new therapies are changing not only how obesity is treated, but also how it is understood: as a chronic disease with biological roots, rather than as a lack of willpower.”
Laboratorymedicine corona
Other breakthroughs highlighted by Science include the successful introduction of the new malaria vaccine called ‘R21/Matrix M’ in Africa. The first two treatments against Alzheimer’s admitted to the market also made it into the annual overview. Although the resources only on paper, hidden in the averages, slow down the progress of the disease slightly – one will hardly notice this per patient – Science believes it is important that the resources offer ‘patients and families new hope’.
There are also letdowns of the year. Shaking its head, Science assesses the ‘persistent stories that the Covid pandemic started with a leak from a government laboratory in (China) Wuhan’. While ‘according to many scientists, compelling evidence supports the theory that the pandemic started with a natural jump from infected animals, at a market in Wuhan.’
This year it became clear that China withheld genetic evidence that corona-sensitive animals such as raccoon dogs were also sold on the market in question. In the United States, however, the fire flared further: Republicans held “excited hearings accusing US government officials of covering up a lab leak without evidence,” Science looks back.
Also listen to our science podcast about the new generation of slimming products. Nothing helped Lisette (115kg) to lose weight until she participated in an experiment as a test subject. With the help of a daily injection, the pounds flew off and stayed off. What are the opportunities and risks of these types of new weight loss products?
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2023-12-14 19:00:29
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