Wegowy is the best known after Ozempic, the one which introduced the general public to the effects (quickly described as a “miracle”) on weight control through the regulation of appetite of these new treatments. However, it is the first to have been developed by the Danish laboratory Novo Nordisk, at the origin of Ozempic. Its marketing in France is obviously subject to strict supervision by the National Medicines Safety Agency.
Hormones that act on satiety in the long term
These new drugs, called “GLP-1 analogs”, are based on a synthetic hormone, here called semaglutide. This perfectly imitates a gastrointestinal hormone (GLP-1) which will stimulate insulin secretion during a meal and provide a feeling of satiety. Better yet: it multiplies its effects, leading more quickly to a more strongly felt satiety. Since then, many other synthetic molecules, all acting on appetite by mimicking GLP-1 or affecting other hunger hormones, have been developed by other labs. Some should even allow marketing in oral form and not by injection.
Miracle drugs against obesity… are especially for pharmaceutical laboratories
These drugs are revolutionizing the management of diabetes and obesity, chronic diseases and real public health scourges, by leading to significant weight loss.
And it is for this purpose: helping sick people, that Svetlana Mojsov, one of the scientists who enabled their development thanks to decades of research, dedicated her career as a chemist and her life. In September, alongside two other researchers, Joel Habener and Lotte Bjerre Knudsen, she was awarded the prestigious Lasker Prize. “The big success is being able to treat obesity and that’s what we should stick to“, insisted the 76-year-old chemist.
Decades of research
Awarded for her decades-long work on hormones and synthetic molecules leading to drugs like Ozempic or Wegowy, this 76-year-old native of Yugoslavia, based in the United States, warns against the misuse of these new anti-inflammatory treatments. -obesity. She highlights the numerous side effects of the products.
Berberine, a plant substance described as a natural Ozempic, costs €20 per box of 90 tablets! But is it effective and safe?
Example with Wegowy injection: it must be taken for life and its side effects are not trivial: in particular gastrointestinal disorders, abdominal pain, vomiting and/or fatigue. This even discourages one user in ten from continuing treatment, according to a health article in Le Monde. In another file on the subject, Libération also listed (but in much smaller numbers) pancreatitis and intestinal obstructions.
Other treatment options
By discovering that GLP-1 slows down emptying of the stomach, Svetlana Mojsov’s scientific team immediately saw the path to “good treatment for diabetes“, she recalls. But this hormone has not yet delivered all its possibilities because it also acts in the brain. In the case of Wegowy, Ozempic and other Mounjaro and Zepbound, by influencing the feeling of satiety.
This suggests that the effects of GLP-1 play a role in many other diseases. Researchers are exploring many other avenues and studies are pouring in: sleep apnea, addiction, kidney, liver or even neurodegenerative diseases (Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s)… The implications of hormones affecting blood sugar have not yet revealed all their findings. mysteries, and therefore, the long-term side effects?
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