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Everyone wants weight loss drugs - but are they even safe? - Walla! health

2023-01-24T05:44:34.837Z


Experts have been warning for a long time that weight loss injections are really not a panacea and that they are not suitable for everyone, but now a new study reveals that they may have a disturbing and surprising side effect


Dr. Nadal Mohanna explains how thyroid diseases are diagnosed - and how they are treated (Walla system!)

In recent years, everyone is talking about weight loss drugs.

Although the popular injections are really not for everyone, it seems that every second person who thinks about a diet, wishes for an easier solution and considers switching to drug treatment.

We've written here many times why these injections really aren't a panacea, and why they're not suitable for everyone, but now a new study reveals that they may have a disturbing and surprising side effect.



A recent study published in Diabetes Care found a link between long-term use of these drugs and the risk of developing thyroid cancer.

According to the study, people who used the drugs for one to three years had a 58 percent higher risk of developing thyroid cancer.

Does the profit outweigh the risk?

Shot for weight loss (Photo: ShutterStock)

A cancerous tumor in the thyroid gland is considered relatively mild.

It develops very slowly, and that many times it does not cause any symptoms at all, and is diagnosed randomly as part of imaging tests of the neck.

The common symptoms are hoarseness for no apparent reason that does not go away after a few weeks and difficulty swallowing or breathing.

Is this a reason to stop using?

The drugs that are sold today mainly as a drug treatment for obesity have been used for many years in the treatment of diabetes, therefore the researchers from the University of Montpellier examined type 2 diabetes patients who were treated with GLP-1 RA-based drugs between the years 2006-2018.

As mentioned, they identified a relationship between long-term use of these drugs and a higher likelihood of thyroid disease.

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However, this is one study, which is more likely to change the tests that patients undergo than the approval of the drug.

Today, people who are treated with weight loss drugs are asked every 3-4 months to check their liver, diabetes, kidneys, cholesterol and electrolytes.

Thyroid testing is not part of this list.

"The new findings provide additional and interesting data for this clinical discussion, although not enough to set a new standard," said Dr. Eric K. Alexander, Chief of the Thyroid Section in the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Hypertension at Brigham and Women's Hospital. Use these drugs only when the benefit of the treatment exceeds the known or suspected risk, and this assessment should be reviewed repeatedly by each patient with their doctor on a regular basis."



It should be noted that apart from the fear of an increase in the likelihood of thyroid cancer, these drugs - like any other drug - have additional side effects.

The most common side effects that affect almost all patients are nausea, abdominal discomfort, diarrhea or constipation.

These symptoms are considered mild and they improve and even disappear completely with time.

It should be noted that these effects are dose dependent.

That is, the slower and more gradual the increase in dosage, the less the chance of significant effects of this type.

Rare side effects that do not depend on dose are acute inflammation of the pancreas (pancreatitis) and complications of gallstones such as acute inflammation of the gallbladder (cholecystitis).

How do these drugs work?

Two drugs from this family are registered in Israel.

The older Liraglutide (liraglutide, also known as Victoza or Saxenda injection) and the newer Semaglutide (semaglutide, or Ozampic injection).

These are drugs that are given by subcutaneous injection and contain a synthetic hormone that is almost exactly the same as the hormone that is secreted from special cells in our digestive system after a meal.



This hormone, called GLP-1 (Glucagon Like Peptide-1), connects to specific receptors in the digestive system and brain and affects in several ways.

In the brain, it has a direct effect on the hunger and satiety centers and results in a decrease in the feeling of hunger and the mental preoccupation with food.

In the digestive system, it slows down stomach emptying so that everything we eat stays longer in the stomach and thus leads to satiety earlier during the meal, which also lasts longer after it.

In addition, this hormone also affects the pancreas, which secretes insulin in response to the increase in sugar levels, and the liver, which produces sugar itself in certain situations, and improves the balance of blood sugar levels.

Who is the treatment with slimming injections suitable for?

Dr. Reli Reicher, a senior physician in the obesity and endoscopic bariatrics unit at Ichilov, explained to Walla! Health that medical treatment for obesity, including drugs from the GLP-1 family, can be given to patients with a weight-to-height ratio (BMI) over 30, or over 27 if the patient In addition, he suffers from obesity-related morbidity. "This is not a technical matter.

These are the criteria for inclusion in clinical studies on obesity drugs for years.

As part of these studies, thousands of patients were treated and monitored, which taught us about the effectiveness of the drugs but also about the possible side effects and complications.

There is no reliable and controlled information about the effect of these drugs on people of normal body weight and without underlying diseases related to obesity.

Like any drug treatment (or any other), when the patient has no indication for treatment, he is left with only the potential risks and side effects, and without any proven health benefit," he said.

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Source: walla

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