New drug emerges as breakthrough for weight loss

Everyone must have heard of the common and trendy “weight jabs.”

Now, a new study by researchers in the UK at the East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust, has emerged that shows a diabetes medicine called tirzepatide helps people lower their blood sugar and lose weight faster than some other common treatments.

Type 2 diabetes is a metabolic problem where blood sugar levels of the body stay chronically elevated. People with this condition usually have insulin resistance or with time produce insufficient insulin.

Insulin is a hormone that helps the body control sugar in the blood by helping cells in taking up sugar for energy and when insulin doesn’t work the right way, the cells stay “starved.”

Over time, too much sugar in the blood can damage the heart, kidneys, nerves, and eyes. That’s why it’s important for people with type 2 diabetes to take care of their health through medicine, eating well, and having an active lifestyle.

Tirzepatide is a newer medicine that was approved in the United States in May 2022 to help treat type 2 diabetes. It works by copying two natural hormones in the body called GLP-1 and GIP. These hormones help lower blood sugar and make people feel full, which can help them lose weight.

In the study, researchers compared tirzepatide to two other common treatments. One is called semaglutide, and the other is a kind of insulin called degludec. Everyone in the study also followed a healthy eating plan and took other diabetes pills.

The results showed that people taking tirzepatide were able to reach their target blood sugar levels faster. People who took tirzepatide (in doses of 5, 10, or 15 milligrams) got their blood sugar down to a healthy level (called HbA1c under 7%) in just 8 weeks. For those taking semaglutide or insulin degludec, it took about 12 weeks to get the same result.

Weight loss was another important benefit of tirzepatide. People taking the higher doses of tirzepatide (10 or 15 mg) lost at least 5% of their body weight in 12 weeks. People taking semaglutide took twice as long, that is, 24 weeks, to lose the same amount. Losing just 5% of body weight can really help improve blood sugar control and reduce the risk of other health problems.

Dr. Adie Viljoen, the lead researcher, said that “reaching health goals faster can help people with diabetes stay motivated and feel better.”

The study shows that tirzepatide could be a vital line of treatment for people with type 2 diabetes because it works faster and helps people lose weight more quickly than some other options.