Popular anti-diabetic and obesity drug has shown signs of restoration of cells’ functions that attack cancer. A team of Irish researchers conducted a small trial on the drug, semaglutide, which is used to treat type 2 diabetes.
With the help of this trial, the scientists wanted to investigate whether this drug, developed by Novo Nordisk, can also help in addressing the problems with cellular metabolism in people with obesity which may explain their higher rates of cancer and infections.
Due to its weight loss properties, this drug has gained popularity across the globe. When this drug is consumed by a diabetic patient, it imitates a gut hormone called GLP1 which makes the user feel fuller for longer and consequently reduces appetite.
Now this trial has revealed that this drug may also have another potential benefit for people with obesity.
“We are finally reaching the point where medical treatments for the disease of obesity are being shown to prevent the complications of having obesity. The current findings represent very positive news for people living with obesity on GLP-1 therapy and suggest the benefits of this family of treatments may extend to a reduction in cancer risk,” said endocrinologist and co-author Donal O’Shea of University College Dublin in a statement.
Although the study had only 20 participants, this outcome definitely highlights the drug’s potential to empower the natural killer cells against cancer.
People with obesity are more prone to developing disorders like type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and many types of cancer. These people are also susceptible to worse outcomes if they contract viral infections like influenza and COVID-19.
The researchers are also inclined towards understanding how cell metabolism underpins immune dysfunction in obesity. According to the researchers, only roughly half of the study participants lost weight on semaglutide, which also reveals that its restorative effects on immune cells might be irrespective of whether the user loses weight or not.
Earlier this year, a surge in this drug’s popularity fuelled global shortages of semaglutide, which is marketed in the US under the name Ozempic. According to media reports, diabetic patients were struggling to get their weekly medication which reportedly led to a spike in their blood sugar levels.
The findings of this study were recently published in the Obesity journal.
