Ozempic linked to stomach paralysis, other gastrointestinal issues: UBC study | 24CA News
Popular weight reduction medicine equivalent to Wegovy and Ozempic, are related to an elevated threat of abdomen paralysis, pancreatitis and bowel obstruction, in accordance with a examine launched Thursday out of the University of British Columbia.
The examine, revealed in JAMA, discovered these antagonistic gastrointestinal results occur in non-diabetic sufferers utilizing the medicine particularly for weight reduction.
Ozempic, Wegovy, Rybelsus and Saxenda are all drugs used to deal with Type 2 diabetes; nevertheless, they’re additionally marketed as weight-loss medicine. The medicine — generally known as s generally known as GLP-1 agonists — work by triggering insulin launch, blocking sugar manufacturing in your liver, and making you’re feeling full. Health Canada has accredited all 4 medicine for the therapy of diabetes.
The UBC researchers discovered that when individuals take these medicine strictly for weight reduction, it may possibly trigger a severe threat of medical circumstances.
“There have been anecdotal reports of some patients using these drugs for weight loss and then presenting with repeated episodes of nausea and vomiting secondary to a condition referred to as gastroparesis,” senior creator Dr. Mahyar Etminan, an epidemiologist and affiliate professor within the division of ophthalmology and visible sciences on the UBC college of drugs, stated.
“But until now, there hasn’t been any data from large epidemiologic studies,” he stated in a Thursday media launch.
To determine whether or not there was a hyperlink between these weight reduction medicine and points like abdomen paralysis, the researchers checked out medical health insurance declare information of round 16 million sufferers within the United States. They then examined prescriptions of the 2 major GLP-1 agonists — semaglutide (Ozempic) or liraglutide (Saxenda) — between 2006 and 2020. They additionally included sufferers with a current historical past of weight problems, however excluded these with diabetes or who had been prescribed one other antidiabetic drug.
The researchers checked the affected person’s medical information to see what number of developed 4 completely different stomach-related issues: pancreatitis, bowel obstruction, gastroparesis (abdomen paralysis) and biliary illness (a gaggle of circumstances affecting the gall bladder).
They then in contrast the speed of sufferers utilizing GLP-agonists versus one other weight reduction drug known as bupropion-naltrexone.
Compared to bupropion-naltrexone, sufferers on GLP-1 agonists medicine had 9 occasions larger threat of pancreatitis (irritation of the pancreas), 4 occasions larger threat of bowel obstruction (meals is prevented from passing by means of the small gut) and thrice larger threat of abdomen paralysis. The latter situation limits the passage of meals from the abdomen to the small intestines and ends in signs like vomiting, nausea and stomach ache.
There was additionally a better threat of incidence of biliary illness, however the researchers stated it was not “statistically significant.”
Although these negative effects are uncommon, the examine’s authors stated as a result of thousands and thousands of individuals world wide use the medicine, “it could lead to hundreds of thousands of people experiencing these conditions.”
The precise variety of Canadians utilizing these weight reduction medicine will not be identified, however Ozempic has turn into so common that in August, its producer, Novo Nordisk, introduced a scarcity of the medicine in Canada.
“These drugs are becoming increasingly accessible, and it is concerning that, in some cases, people can simply go online and order these kinds of medications when they may not have a full understanding of what could potentially happen. This goes directly against the mantra of informed consent,” Sodhi stated within the media launch on the time.
The researchers stated they hope the drug makers of GLP-1 agonists will think about updating the warning labels of their merchandise, which presently don’t embrace the chance of gastroparesis.
In 2018, Health Canada accredited Ozempic as a medicine to deal with individuals with diabetes, however not for weight reduction.
Wegovy, a better dose model of the identical drug, was accredited for weight reduction in 2021 in Canada however has by no means been bought right here as a result of excessive international demand and provide shortages.
Health Canada accredited Rybelsus in 2020 as a medicine to deal with diabetes however not weight reduction. And Saxenda was accredited for weight reduction in 2015.
Ozempic and abdomen paralysis
The UBC analysis is the primary epidemiological examine that hyperlinks common weight reduction medicine to abdomen paralysis and different severe gastrointestinal circumstances.
Prior to that, there have been anecdotal accounts, considered one of which Global News reported on Aug. 3, 2023.
Emily Wright, a Toronto elementary faculty trainer, began taking the drug Ozempic in 2018 as a strategy to management her meals cravings and blood sugar in her battle with Type 2 diabetes.
She started dropping pounds, however on the identical time, she began experiencing fixed vomiting, lingering nausea, and what she described as “terrible-smelling sulfur burps resembling the odor of rotten eggs.”
“The doctor said those side effects would eventually go away. As I started to lose weight, I remained on Ozempic, and within one year I was able to lose over 80 pounds,” Wright beforehand instructed Global News.
But her signs worsened. Two years later she was hospitalized for extreme nausea and dehydration as she couldn’t cease vomiting.
“I was treated for dehydration or what they call ‘cyclic vomiting-like symptoms,’” Wright stated, including she was identified with gastroparesis, which causes abdomen paralysis.
A physician believed Ozempic could also be related to her signs, and requested she cease taking it.
Since going off the drug, she stated her signs haven’t improved and has needed to take a depart of absence from her job.
She stated she doesn’t know if Ozempic prompted her situation, however believes it could have exacerbated it.
“I’m on medication, which I will likely have to be on for the rest of my life to speed up the motility of my stomach, as well as daily nausea medication to combat vomiting,” Wright stated. “Ultimately, this helps me to be able to stay out of the hospital.”
Dr. Ravi Retnakaran, an endocrinologist and professor of drugs on the University of Toronto, beforehand instructed Global News in August that though nausea is without doubt one of the most typical negative effects of Ozempic (and all different drugs on this drug class), a extreme response equivalent to Wright’s may be very uncommon.
“The GI side effects, they are real. A lot of people will get them, but generally, they’re not going to cause people to be unable to take the medication,” he stated. “There is, of course, a subset of patients in whom that occurs. The nausea is too much, and they can’t take it.”
In an e-mail to Global News in August, a spokesperson from Novo Nordisk, the creator of Ozempic, stated, “Patient safety is of utmost importance to Novo Nordisk, and we take all reports about adverse events from use of our medicines very seriously.”
Gastrointestinal occasions are well-known negative effects of the GLP-1 class, defined Kate Hanna, the spokesperson for Novo Nordisk’s Canadian arm.
“For semaglutide, the majority of GI side effects are mild to moderate in severity and of short duration. GLP-1s are known to cause a delay in gastric emptying,” she stated.
“While diabetes is a well-known risk factor, there are other risk factors that may increase the risk of gastroparesis such as obesity, gender (female), virus infection and nervous systems disease.”
