Weight loss jabs can slash the probabilities of dying from kidney disease by almost 1 / 4, a world-first study found.
Patients given semaglutide – the important thing ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy – were less prone to progress to kidney failure or need transplants in what has been hailed a ‘game-changer’ for the condition.
They were also far less prone to die from heart attack or stroke, compounding recent findings that it’s the most important breakthrough in heart problems since statins.
Known for dramatic weight-loss, experts consider these latest advantages are independent, with the drug triggering a separate response in kidney cells.
Researchers said the apparent wonder drug is ‘saving kidneys, hearts and lives’, boosting survival probabilities in conditions traditionally seen as a death sentence.
Patients given semaglutide – the important thing ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy – were less prone to progress to kidney failure or need transplants, a a world-first study has found
This chart shows how kidney patients given semaglutide (yellow line) had less probability of suffering major kidney injuries in comparison with patients on the placebo (grey line). The larger chart shows the raw data, where because the smaller chart shows this calculated as a decreased risk of an event, which translates to a 24 per cent less risk of a serious kidney problem amongst patients taking the Ozempic ingrideint cohort
Professor Vlado Perkovic, lead researcher from the University of New South Wales, Sydney, said it was a ‘truly exciting’ day for kidney patients.
He said: ‘The advantages that we saw were greater than we dared hope and we expect it’s a game-changer for diabetes and kidney disease.
‘We think it’s a very huge step forward for the community and really exciting for individuals with kidney disease on account of diabetes.’
Uncontrolled diabetes and hypertension are the most important causes of chronic kidney disease which kills around 45,000 people within the UK every year.
Rising levels of type 2 diabetes is driving a ‘tsunami of kidney disease’ all over the world, affecting around 7.2 million people within the UK.
The global FLOW trial involved 3,500 patients with type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease, including 62 from the UK, who were followed for greater than three years.
They were either given the appetite suppressant semaglutide – a prescription drug offered by the NHS – or a placebo.
One in 20 of the people on the dummy drug and existing treatments died during this era, showing the degrees of sickness amongst these patients.
Given once weekly at the identical dose as Ozempic, it was found to slash the danger of great kidney problems or death on account of heart or kidney causes by 24 per cent.
The risk of major cardiovascular events – equivalent to heart attacks and stroke decreased by 18 per cent and the probabilities of dying early from any cause fell by a fifth (20 per cent).
Speaking ahead of presenting the findings on the European Renal Association Congress in Stockholm, Sweden, this weekend Professor Perkovic said the potential implications are ‘dramatic’.
‘Firstly, just by reducing the progression of kidney disease, fewer people will reach dialysis, which can reduce the numbers of individuals on dialysis and likewise the numbers of people that need kidney transplants.
‘In the long run, with fewer people needing transplants, they may develop into more rapidly available to those that do still need them, and due to this fact reduced the type of waiting period before goes well.’
The findings come lower than a fortnight after research presented on the European Congress on Obesity showed Novo-Nordisk’s drug slashed the probabilities of heart attack and stroke by a fifth.
‘Miracle’ slimming jabs like Ozempic and Wegovy, hailed by celebrities including Jeremy Clarkson (left) and Elon Musk (right), are proven to assist people lose as much as 2st. But experts said that anyone counting on them to combat long run weight reduction may very well be left upset, with the results of the drugs halting after just months
A spike in demand for the jabs, fuelled by celebrity endorsements, has also seen global stocks run low. But mounting evidence, nevertheless, suggests that in the actual world, the drugs’ side-effects equivalent to vomiting and diarrhoea are proving so common and overwhelming that it makes the present versions impractical for many patients to remain on for very long. Both Sharon Osbourne and Oprah Winfrey have admitted to taking Ozempic
Leading cardiologists hailed the breakthrough as the most important for the reason that Nineties when statins were introduced, now taken by hundreds of thousands of Britons.
Professor Perkovic said further research is required to establish what exactly is behind the response and whether it could at some point be used for other types of kidney disease.
He added: ‘There’ll be great interest moving forward in whether this might actually help protect the kidney function and folks with transplants but that hasn’t been studied up to now but might be a very important area for the long run.’
Its not the primary time that the revolutionary weight reduction jabs have been hailed as a breakthrough for kidney disease.
Earlier this 12 months, Professor Katherine Tuttle, a kidney researcher on the University of Washington who was also involved within the study, told the Mail on Sunday early results suggested the drug could ‘completely change’ how medics treat kidney disease.
‘We could save so many lives, and 1000’s from requiring dialysis or the anxiety of needing a brand new organ,’ she said.
She added: ‘We are at a revolutionary time for kidney disease – this might grow to be certainly one of the most important breakthroughs in medical history.’
Medics are still unsure why semaglutide has such a pronounced effect on kidney disease.
‘It’s possible GLP-1 drugs have an anti-inflammatory effect,’ Professor Tuttle said.
‘Kidney disease is usually defined by scarring contained in the organ, but early studies suggest GLP-1 agonists may protect patients from this damage.
‘We hope that, if patients get treated long enough, they might begin to improve.’
Dr Aisling McMahon, executive director research at Kidney Research UK, said the UK is facing a ‘looming crisis’ with growing numbers needing dialysis on account of rising levels of diabetes, some of the significant risk aspects for chronic kidney disease.
She said: ‘We are very encouraged to see the outcomes of the FLOW Trial, which has shown semaglutide improves survival and likewise slows the decline in kidney function on this group of patients.
‘Hopefully that is only the start – we might like to see further research involving patients with non-diabetic chronic kidney disease who may profit from this treatment.’
Save the jabs for unwell people like me
One kidney disease patient already taking semaglutide is Dawn Cerruto, 52, who has lived with the condition for 26 years.
The social employee from New Jersey underwent dialysis for 3 years after diagnosis before receiving a transplant.
While her kidney disease has remained relatively stable since then, she later developed diabetes, which is why she began taking semaglutide last 12 months.
‘At first I experienced some stomach aches and really lost an excessive amount of weight,’ Dawn says. ‘However, I’m now on a smaller dose and my diabetes is stable.’
Dawn Cerruto, 52, a social employee from New Jersey, has lived with the condition for 26 years
It was only recently that Dawn discovered the injection – which she self-administers once every week – could also prevent her kidney disease from getting worse.
‘When I read that I assumed to myself, I suppose I’m on the suitable drug.
‘My doctors told me that the brand new kidney I actually have will likely last one other ten years, but hopefully taking semaglutide will help extend that point further.’
However, Dawn – who can be an envoy for the American Kidney Fund charity – says that the present worldwide shortages of semaglutide concern her.
‘It’s such excellent news that it could help prevent kidney disease getting worse, but so many persons are taking it because they simply need to lose some weight,’ she explains.
‘There are patients like me who really want this drug, so it should only be considered a final resort for patients who’re otherwise healthy.’