A weekly intake of a drug, approved to treat Type 2 diabetes, can provide substantial and sustained reductions in body weight, according to a study. The experimental drug, called tirzepatide, developed by US pharma major Eli Lilly has also been hailed as an alternative to bariatric surgery.
Tirzepatide combines synthetic mimics of two hormones known as GLP-1 and GIP that our guts naturally release after we eat to make us feel full. These naturally occurring hormones also help control blood sugar.
In May, the US Food and Drug Administration approved tirzepatide, under the trade name Mounjaro, for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes. Currently, Tirzepatide is not available for weight loss, but Eli Lilly is aiming to get an updated timeline from the FDA this year. The drug, which is currently available in an injectable form, “is a welcome relief”, Dr. Anil Arora, chairman, Institute of Liver, Gastroenterology, Pancreaticobiliary Science at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi, told IANS.
“The combination of the two hormones go and tell the brain that your stomach is full or you have enough reserves and you don’t need to eat more. So that restricts the appetite that makes you burn more calories which are residing in your body unutilized helping you lose weight,” he added.
In the study, published in the ‘New England Journal of Medicine, an international team, including from Yale University, randomly split 2,539 overweight or obese participants into four equal groups.
