Berlin. The corona pandemic emerged during a study on the Wegovy weight loss injection. The researchers reacted and are now amazed by the results.
The so-called Weight loss injections are still in a difficult position in Germany. Critics see the drugs Ozempic and Wegs especially lifestyle products that are supposed to help you lose weight faster. But a new study provides surprising findings.
The Select study with more than 17,600 subjects, which was published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, found that the active ingredient contained in the syringes Semaglutidean antidiabetic drug, appears to reduce mortality rates.
Study on weight loss injections: Researchers surprised by corona pandemic
The study revealed connections that the researchers had not originally anticipated. The initial focus was on the question of whether semaglutide had an effect on the life of patients with heart disease. The selected subjects all suffered from a previous cardiovascular disease and were overweight, but not from diabetes.
Also interesting
What the researchers did not know was that the corona pandemic broke out in the middle of the study, and the continuation of the study, which was planned to last more than three years, was in jeopardy. Due to previous illnesses and the fact that every second person was 61 years or older, the test subjects were all classified as Covid risk group.
“We had to make dramatic changes to ensure that the study continued and the subjects continued to receive their medication,” explained the Harvard professor Benjamin Sciricaone of the lead authors of the study, told the New York Times.
Patients who received the weight loss injection died less often
But from a purely scientific point of view, the emergence of the corona pandemic exciting findings highlights:
- Of the 17,604 subjects, 4,258 fell ill with CovidThe corona cases were distributed almost equally between the placebo and medication groups.
- Of the 184 patients who died from Covid disease, a disproportionate number had received the placebo. The risk of death for those who had received semaglutide was 33 percent lower.
- Across all causes of death, the mortality rate of semaglutide recipients was 19 percent lowerThe researchers were particularly surprised by the impact on causes of death that were not cardiovascular.
Dr. Jeremy Faust, a physician who also teaches at Harvard University but was not involved in the study, said he was “shocked” by the Results“These drugs demonstrate repeatedly and routinely that they are game changers,” says Faust.
Can semaglutide also help against other diseases?
The question of whether the positive effects can be achieved solely by reducing the Overweight or directly through the use of semaglutide. Harlan Krumholz, a physician at the Yale School of Medicine, believes that the drug could even be used in the future to treat diseases associated with heart failure, Alzheimer’s disease and even cancer.
“It would not surprise me if improving people’s health in this way actually slows down the aging process,” Krumholz said at a conference of the European Society of Cardiology.
Germans have to pay for weight loss injections themselves
Anyone who uses semaglutide in Germany in the form of a weight-loss injection to lose weight must cover the costs themselves. In July, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) rejected an extension of the indication for the prevention of cardiovascular events in overweight and obese people.
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Anyone who uses medications such as Wegovy must also expect side effects. The most common include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain and constipation.
Nutrition doctor Dr. Riedl explains here why the weight loss injection is not yet covered by health insurance and what he thinks of the product.
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