focus -WSS

focus

author：knowledge 2025-09-30 16:23:47 - browse：69

Jamy Ard (left) and Robert Lustig (right) on the 2023 STAT Breakthrough Summit stage -- coverage from STAT — Obesity experts Jamy Ard (left) and Robert Lustig speak at a panel during the 2023 STAT Breakthrough Summit. Sarah Gonzalez for STAT

Amid rising demand for drugs like Wegovy, Ozempic, and Mounjaro that can lead to significant weight loss, some obesity experts are concerned about the drugs’ costs — both to patients’ finances and to their health.

Speaking at a panel on new obesity treatments at the STAT Breakthrough Summit in San Francisco on Thursday, one expert cited a large clinical trial for Wegovy that showed that about 40% of the weight participants lost was lean mass. Side effects like nausea, vomiting, and a possible link to rare cases of pancreatitis also still plague this newest class of drugs, which imitate the effects of a hormone called glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP) that helps people feel full.

“That’s what starvation does. You lose equal amounts of muscle and fat,” said Robert Lustig, emeritus professor of pediatrics at the University of California, San Francisco. “If you’re a person 60 years old or over and you’re losing muscle, your risk of dying just went up exponentially. So we may be … robbing Peter to pay Paul.”

Unlock this article by subscribing to STAT+ and enjoy your first 30 days free!

GET STARTED Log In

Previous article： Cancer drug shortages should be causing more outrage
Next article： Vermont grapples with historic flooding as more rainstorms head for Northeast

leisure time

WSS

Why Medicare shouldn’t cover every FDA

How generative AI ratchets up security threats for health systems

Venture capital firm's plans to take over Akron hospital face hurdles

Iran's president begins a rare visit to Africa 'to promote economic diplomacy'

Russia's threat to pull out of Ukraine grain deal raises fears about global food security

Cuban government calls US nuclear submarine stop a 'provocative escalation'

Wikipedia

focus

focus

In Memoriam: Notable people who died in 2023

Sickle cell gene therapy cures need to be accessible in Africa

Trump demands the U.S. pay no more for drugs than other countries … again

Grail's uphill battle for Medicare to cover its cancer screening test

Guidelines to prevent youth baseball injuries need more muscle

Va. Republicans encourage early voting, a target of Trump's, ahead of fall elections

Trump demands the U.S. pay no more for drugs than other countries … again

Va. Republicans encourage early voting, a target of Trump's, ahead of fall elections

Medicare details structure of new drug price negotiation program

Rapinoe says her retirement call will help US women's soccer team to focus at World Cup

leisure time

Pancreatic cancer early detection could be helped by AI

Philips to halt sales of sleep apnea machines in U.S.

Russia's threat to pull out of Ukraine grain deal raises fears about global food security

Antibody drugs appear effective. Now can we make enough of them?

Grail's uphill battle for Medicare to cover its cancer screening test

Humana’s losses in Medicare Advantage tank its stock

Wikipedia

leisure time

leisure time

hotspot