THEi call anti -infamous drugs and, according to theEconomisthave all the characteristics to become one of the most successful medicinal classes in history.
The wave of the Revolution, which started in the United States, came from a few months in Italy. The requests of the pre -rated pens with the preparation to be injected subcutes immediately exploded. «With the recent authorization for sale by theAIFAthere was a surge in prescriptions in Italy »he explained Marco Chianelli, coordinator of the Obesity Commission of the Endocrinologists Medici Association. For example, al Center for excellence of metabolic health of the San Raffaele hospital in Milan, now they propose the therapy to eight out of ten patients when they have to lose many kilos. It seems that the drugs are also widespread among those who want to eliminate only a few hectches, despite the indications clearly speak of obesity or overweight associated with a disease such as hypertension or high cholesterol. Any doctor can make the recipe And, with the one in hand, you go to the pharmacy and pay. There monthly expenditure oscillates between 220 and 623 eurosnot refundable from the National Health Service.
Carlo Vangeri Gilbert – Gallery Stock
Lights and shadows
THE Active principles, traffic semaglutide, liraglutide and tirzepatide, mimano a hormone that helps regulate blood sugar and appetitethe GLP-1. He slims effortlessly, without drastic diets. It simply passes the desire to eat, to exaggerate at the table, even to drink alcohol (a study on 48 people with addiction problems, published on Jama Psychiatry). For millions of people, the injection subcute once a week has become the answer to a battle that has always been lost. Such the global question, that the revenues of one of the pharmaceutical companies producing, Novo Nordiskdid Go up in 2023 the gross domestic internal product of Denmark, where it is based. For his part, Eli Lilly reported that the world turnover of his antifame, in the fourth quarter of 2024, increased by 60 percent. Are there side effects? Of course yes, It is not about magic berries. The most common discomforts are gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, constipation and diarrhea (which can be checked by modulating the dosage). Serious but rare consequences, the pancreatitis and the paralysis of the stomach. That’s why to adopt a healthy diet remains the ideal solution for those who have no important problems with the scale. Physical activity should then be increased, because i Injectable drugs can reduce muscle mass In addition to fat.
How they work
Meanwhile, the testimonies of influencers on social networks and the United States come crazy, the first books dedicated to the phenomenon arrive. The American television star Oprah Winfrey has admitted to having lost many kilos: “The fact that there is a medical recipe approved to manage the weight and remain healthy, in my life, it seems to me a redemption”. One of the most important scientific journals in the world, Sciencehas awarded the “turning point of the year” to the active ingredients in 2023. The motivation: “Obesity presents itself as a private struggle and a public health crisis. It is believed that it is the basis of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, arthritis and some types of cancer. Still, pharmacological treatments had so far a sad past, often intertwined with the widespread belief that excess weight reflected a weak will “.
For the first time, molecules have been placed on the market that make patients lose effort without effort. They define themselves, in technical terms, agonists of the GLP-1 receptor, because they act by activating the same receptor (i.e. a chemical lock) of the natural GLP-1, a hormone produced in the intestine in response to the intake of food. The person feels like satisfying and therefore eats less. Semaglutide and tirzepatide are in fact synthetic hormones that lower blood sugar, stimulating the production of insulin and inhibiting the secretion of glucagon (one of the counter -regulation hormones of insulin action). In addition, increase the time of stay of food in the stomachleading to anslower assimilation of sugars.
How many kilos are lost
The drugs are supplied in preloaded injectable devices, the so -called pens, which contain some doses, gradually higher. With one of the products on sale in Italy based on trafficlutide, it was seen in clinical studies that We get to lose one year from 15 to 18 percent of the body weight: It means, for example, that from 120 initial kilos you can go to 98-102. Another drug, available from last October from us, has tirzepatide as its active ingredient, which acts duplicate: imitates the GLP-1 but also the action of another hormone of the gastrointestinal tract, GIP, which controls the insulin secretion in response to the meal. In an investigation that has been entitled to The Lancet (About-2, in August 2023), a drop in kilos was observed even more than 25 percent of body weight in 17 percent of patients after 72 weeks of therapy. The figures must be taken with the pliers. A study of the Cleveland Clinicpublished a few days ago (Obesity JournalJune 2025), shows that injection drugs produce less weight loss in a real context compared to clinical studies.
Two billion obese in the world
With over two and a half billion of ponderal excess people, the question is voracious. Pharmaceutical companies are running to propose a pill formulation, which would be cheaper and with less adverse effects. In the beginning these drugs were born for diabetes. Then, in a revisited version they managed to contrast obesity. Now it turns out that they promise to do much more. The data of an observational study (score), presented at the last congress of theAmerican College of Cardiologyshow that the assumption of semaglutide at the dosage of 2.4 milligrams, in people with obesity it breaks down the risk of heart attack and stroke and reduces mortality from all causes of 86 percent. Not only that. According to a large US analysis on Nature Medicinepatients treated with Glp-1 agonist drugs have a lower risk than 12 percent to develop Alzheimer’s. But how is it possible? Some researchers speculate that these drugs have A sort of medical superpower: They believe they can reduce the chronic inflammation of the body, that is, that state that contributes to pathologies such as atherosclerosis and cancer. Hypothesis, of course. And it is necessary to deepen the research to understand what happens in the long run, so that patients may have to remain on therapy with these drugs for life.
Just snacks
What is known is that anti -fame drugs are starting to upset some business industry business models: sales of baking and snacks are down in the United States. “Glp-1-based drugs seem not only to reduce appetite, but also rewriting people’s wishes” reads on The New York Times. “They attack” the industrial palate “. Patients reported having lost interest in ultra -prompt foods. They realize that many snacks and ready dishes that once loved now have a repugnant flavor ».
Face and neck suffer
Not all hope will come true. Already now you can see how not everyone responds to drugs. And there is “the semaglutide face”, the expression coined to describe the emptying of the face and neck. “there face from semaglutide”, The term coined to describe it emptying the face and neck. “It is a failure linked to the rapidity of weight loss, it does not seem to be anomalous drops in collagen,” says the Dermatologist Antonino Di PietroDirector of the Dermoclinic Institute Vita Cutis (San Donato Group). “Indeed, a improvement in patients with acne, Although the cases collected are still few ». This class of drugs has existed for less than 20 years, since the traffic lights are used by diabetics. Today we are experiencing a kind of great experiment, with hundreds of thousands of people who take semaglutide and tirzepatide. Only the time will reveal the royal potential or hidden limits. © RESERVED REPRODUCTION
Eliana Liotta (photo by Carlo Vangeri Gilbert).
Eliana Liotta is a journalist, writer and scientific popularizer. On Iodonna.it and on the main platforms (Spreaker, Spotify, Apple Podcast and Google Podcast) you will find its podcast series The good I want to.
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