A new study of the type 2 diabetes drug tirzepatide revealed that it caused dramatic weight loss in participants who did not have diabetes. Those taking the highest of three studied doses lost as much as 21% of their body weight, making the drug a potential tool to fight the war on obesity, even for those who do not suffer from diabetes.
According to USA Today, the drug works on two hormones that help control blood sugar levels and signal satiety to the brain. Researchers have previously observed that people who took the drug for their diabetes lost weight. The new study focused on obesity and was published in The New England Journal of Medicine. The study authors noted that “obesity if a chronic disease that results in substantial global morbidity and mortality.”
Some of the subjects lost 50-60 pounds during the 72-week trial. About one third dropped out due to gastrointestinal side effects of the drug. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved tirzepatide on May 13 under the trade name Mounjaro, for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. While it has not been approved for weight loss, drug giant Lilly which makes tirzepatide hopes to have an updated timelines from the FDA this year, says USA Today.
According to CNN, tirzepatide was given weekly to study participants in three dosages: 5, 10 and 15 milligrams. Participants with obesity or who were overweight and took the lowest dose lost an average of 35 pounds. People on the 10-milligram dose lost an average of 49 pounds, and those who took the 15-milligram dose lost an average of 52 pounds.
“Almost 40% of individuals lost a quarter of their body weight,” noted Dr. Ania Jastreboff, coauthor of the study and an obesity specialist at Yale School of Medicine.
Dr. Robert Gabbay, the American Diabetes Association’s chief medical officer, said that the “data was quite impressive.” He added that “the weight loss that they got in this study was even greater than what had been seen in previous studies of people with diabetes.”
Gabbay noted that weight loss of 15% to more than 20% may change the way doctors treat diabetes, by aiming for total remission rather than just controlling blood sugar levels. A previous study of tirzepatide in diabetes found that half the participants who were in early stages of diabetes went into total remission while taking the drug, says USA Today.
“That is a potential game changer in how we think about therapy for people with type 2 diabetes,” said Gabbay. And the drug could also be a game changer to treat obesity, which, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, affects 41.9% of the population.
“Obesity should be treated like any other chronic disease, with effective and safe approaches that target underlying causes of disease,” said Jastreboff. “These results underscore that tirzepatide may be doing just that.”
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