Anti-obesity medication

The cost of Wegovy will soon be covered by Medicare, according to an announcement from the federal health insurance program for seniors on Thursday. And while that’s great news for people over 65 who want access to a medication that’s drawn so much attention for its ability to help with weight loss, there’s just one catch. Medicare will only pay if patients have potentially serious heart problems.The Fujifilm X100VI is the Most Fun I’ve Had With a Camera in YearsWegovy is the brand name of Novo Nordisk’s anti-obesity…

Pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly is making a plea to some of its customers: stop hoarding our weight loss drugs. In a new Oscar-themed commercial set to run on TV this weekend, the drugmaker is not-so-subtly telling people to stay away from its new blockbuster medications if they’re only looking to lose a few pounds. These and similar drugs have continuously experienced shortages since their debut in recent years, with demand far outstripping supply.An AI That Helps You Get a Job? | AI UnlockedThe 30-second reverse…

Medications used to treat diabetes and obesity may also show promise in reducing opioid cravings, recently released research suggests. The small study found that people with opioid use disorder who took the GLP-1 drug liraglutide reported noticeably fewer cravings afterward. The findings are the latest to indicate that GLP-1 drugs can help control addictive behaviors, but much more data will be needed to confirm their effectiveness.What Drew Noomi Rapace to Constellation?The research was presented this weekend at the…

Another week, another study finding that Ozempic/Wegovy and similar drugs may do a lot more than just help people lose weight. New research has found that patients who start taking GLP-1 drugs are less likely to be diagnosed with depression and anxiety afterward, compared to similar patients not on the drug. The findings do not prove a cause-and-effect relationship, but provide further evidence that these drugs are not typically harmful to people’s mental health.The Animal Kingdom Imagines a World of Humans Turning Into…

The newest obesity drug on the market, Eli Lilly’s tirzepatide, may also help keep people’s blood pressure in check, new research out Monday has shown. The study looked at clinical trial participants and found that people taking it experienced a drop in their systolic blood pressure on average compared to a placebo group over a six-month span. The research is the latest to indicate that a new group of obesity drugs can offer health benefits beyond weight loss.Alex Winter on Innovative Horror Movies Tirzepatide, developed…

A popular class of weight loss drugs may offer more lasting success than assumed, new data from Epic Research suggests. The study of medical records found that a slight majority of people who took GLP-1 drugs like semaglutide either maintained or improved their weight loss in the year after they stopped using the medication. More than a third of former users did substantially regain much or all of their original weight, however.Alex Winter on the Most Important Modern Horror Movie Semaglutide mimics the natural GLP-1…

A popular class of weight loss and diabetes drugs looks to be safer than feared, at least so far. This week, the Food and Drug Administration announced it hasn’t found compelling evidence that Wegovy, Ozempic, and other GLP-1 drugs can cause suicidal thoughts or behaviors—a concern that first emerged last year. The FDA hasn’t definitively ruled out a possible connection just yet, however, and it is still conducting further investigation into the matter.Would Peter Capaldi Return to Doctor Who?In summer 2023, health…

Wegovy and similar weight loss drugs may cause more side effects than currently recognized. The Food and Drug Administration is now looking into whether these new generation obesity drugs can trigger hair loss, suicide ideation, and food aspiration, based on adverse event reports linked to their use. These reports are only intended to be a potential warning signal and do not prove causation, but the FDA could take further regulatory action should their investigation bear fruit, such as modifying the drugs’ labeling.Let’s…

Few prescription drugs have entered the public consciousness as abruptly as Ozempic and Wegovy have in recent years. Novo Nordisk’s brand-name medications have become as synonymous with weight loss as Viagra and Cialis are with erectile dysfunction. But while 2023 has made it clear that these and similar drugs really are the future of obesity treatment, it’s also shown that this future looks plenty messy—sometimes for reasons that have little to do with the drugs themselves.Let’s Eat a Chocolate Xbox…

Americans are increasingly calling poison control centers over semaglutide, the active ingredient in popular weight loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy. Most of these calls appear to concern potential overdoses of semaglutide and might be tied to a rise in compounded versions of the drug, which aren’t tested for their safety and can come in doses that vary greatly from the typical formulation.Google’s AI Isn’t a Gimmick, It’s the Future | AI UnlockedSemaglutide was developed by the Danish-based pharmaceutical company Novo…