A study demonstrates the success of Ozempic in treating obesity in adolescents

One of the fashionable compounds used to lose weight has shown clinical utility in several aspects beyond the simple fact of 'subtracting' those extra kilos. Semaglutide, the drug that regulates blood sugar and insulin, better known as Ozempic, has been the subject of analysis at the European Congress on Obesity.

Despite the fact that its properties have gone by word of mouth (today from reel to reel on social networks), doctors have analyzed its effect through data from a Step Teens clinical trial. From it, they have drawn two important conclusions: almost half of adolescents who used semaglutide reached normal weight or overweight and the use of the drug shows that it can reduce liver damage caused by obesity.

From the medical community, extreme care is taken to trivialize the messages about the effect of those extra kilos, since with the passage of time they become a disease. Almost 60% of adults and one in three children are overweight, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).. “The situation is really worrying in children,” said Julianne Williams, one of the co-authors of the latest WHO report.. Obesity in childhood and adolescence is associated with obesity-related complications, including increased risk of cardiovascular disease, dyslipidemia, type 2 diabetes, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, and obstructive sleep apnea, as well as impaired quality of life..

Efficacy data for reducing overweight among 12- to 18-year-olds involved in the study have been published in Obesity, although general data from the Step Teens trial was published last year in The New England Journal of Medicine.. Now, in a new secondary analysis Aaron S. Kelly, co-director of the University of Minnesota Center for Pediatric Obesity Medicine, points to the effects of treatment in improving body mass index (BMI) categories: Nearly three-quarters (74%) dropped at least one category of weight.

Adolescents (201) with a mean weight of 107.5 kg, with cases of obesity to severe obesity, were included in this analysis.. Participants randomized once weekly subcutaneous semaglutide 2.4 mg (n=134) or placebo (n=67) for 68 weeks. Both groups received lifestyle advice to follow during that time: healthy nutrition guidelines and a goal of 60 minutes of moderate-to-high intensity physical activity per day..

At the end of the trial, 74% of the participants treated with Ozempic had moved down at least one rung on the obesity scale, compared to 19% treated with placebo.. “This demonstrates that it is much more expensive to treat obesity in these stages with nutritional and exercise intervention alone,” the researchers note in the study.. In addition, 45% of the participants dropped two places on the scale. Taken together, semaglutide treatment reduced the proportion of participants with the most severe degree of obesity from 37% to 14% after more than one year on treatment.

Therefore, they conclude that “the findings support the early use of the drug in the treatment of obesity in adolescents and demonstrate its potential to improve and reduce BMI.”. Another point that the authors point out is that, despite not being analyzed, they found better results in the female group. “To certify this, more data is needed”.

Currently, the lines of approach to address obesity in minors are interventions through diet and physical exercise.. Pharmacotherapy options are quite limited. Until recently, the FDA in the US had approved only four medications for weight control in adolescents: liraglutide, orlistat, phentermine/topiramate extended-release capsules (all for ages 12 and older), and phentermine short-term (for ages 12 and older). 16 years old) and only one (liraglutide) is approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA)..

Ozempic reduces liver damage

Conclusions about the impact on the liver have also been drawn from the same trial.. This sub-analysis was carried out by Daniel Weghuber, from the Department of Pediatrics at the Paracelsus Medical University of Salzburg (Austria)..

It should be taken into account that increased body weight and BMI are associated with a higher incidence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and its advanced forms, such as steatohepatitis, which can lead to liver failure.. Weight loss can improve liver parameters such as alanine aminotransferase (ALT) enzyme levels in patients with these pathologies.

Measurements of this enzyme are considered the first step in NAFLD screening in children at risk. Consistently high levels lead to increased clinical testing for these diseases, whereas low levels indicate improvement in the underlying cause of liver damage.

In this regard, the authors conclude that “in the Step Teens trial, treatment with semaglutide was associated with a significant reduction in levels of the liver enzyme alanine aminotransferase compared with placebo.”

Weghuber adds that “in the Step Teens trial, treatment with semaglutide was associated with a significant reduction in levels of the liver enzyme alanine aminotransferase compared with placebo.

Weghuber adds that “fatty liver disease is the most common liver disease in adolescents with no pharmacological treatment currently available. The results of this work are encouraging and will inform studies specifically designed to test semaglutide in adolescents with NAFLD.”

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