United States: The health benefits of GLP-1 diabetes and weight loss drugs have been piling up, and recently, a new expert report proved their possible function in protecting the kidneys from harm.
More about the news
Recently, the largest study was conducted to date on the effects of the drugs on the kidneys; the experts found that GLP-1s do protect the organs in those with diabetes as well as those who are non-diabetic.
Furthermore, GLP-1s are included in blockbuster diabetes meds like Ozempic and its weight-loss derivative, Wegovy.
According to Dr. Sunil Badve, the study lead and a kidney specialist and professorial fellow at The George Institute for Global Health in Sydney, Australia, “This is the first study to show a clear benefit of GLP-1 receptor agonists on kidney failure or end-stage kidney disease,” US News reported.
Moreover, the recently held studies also suggest that GLP-1s “have a key role in kidney-protective and heart-protective treatment for patients with common medical conditions like type 2 diabetes, overweight or obesity with cardiovascular disease, or chronic kidney disease.”
The popular glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists known to help in weight loss as well as manage blood sugar can also protect the kidneys, regardless of diabetes status, finds a study led by an Indian-origin researcher.https://t.co/jz6tKpJNTI
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What more are the experts stating?
Badve and team performed a ‘meta-analysis’- which is a major review of data coming from different studies; in the present case, eleven large-scale clinical trials of GLP-1s were involved, participated by more than 85,000 people.
Among them, around 68,000 were with type 2 diabetes, while just 17,600 were obese or overweight along with heart disease; however, they did not have type 2 diabetes.
Furthermore, GLP-1 drugs used during the trials were semaglutide (Ozempic or Wegovy), dulaglutide (Trulicity), and liraglutide (Victoza).
Kidney health results
The expert’s team noted that there was a major kidney health improvement among those who were taking the drugs.
As an example, the usage of GLP-1 reduced the chances of kidney failure by 16 percent and further deteriorated the condition by 22 percent.
As per the news release, this improvement was meant as “a drop in estimated glomerular filtration rate — a measure of how much blood the kidneys filter clean every minute — of at least 50%,” US News reported.
Furthermore, “These results are particularly important for patients with chronic kidney disease,” as Badve added.
“It is a progressive condition eventually leading to kidney failure requiring dialysis or kidney transplantation and is associated with premature death, mostly from heart disease. It has a significant impact on patients’ quality of life and incurs substantial healthcare costs,” Badve continued.
Additionally, people were noted to have heart-related benefits. Such as, the usage of drugs lowered an individual’s chance for a combo outcome of lethal heart-related death, non-fatal heart attacks, and non-fatal strokes by 14 percent, as compared to those who had a placebo.
All in all, GLP-1 was associated with a 13 percent reduction in an individual’s chances of premature death from any of the mentioned causes, as revealed by the research.