the drug that caused a furor over weight loss

Princess of Asturias Prize for Scientific and Technical Research 2024

The work of the latest scientists was awarded the Princess of Asturias Award for scientific and technical research, endocrinology specialists Daniel J. Drucker, MD (Canada); Jeffrey M. Friedman, molecular biologist (USA); Joel F. Habener, endocrinologist (USA); Jens Juul Holst, chemist (Denmark); and Svetlana Moisova, chemist (Macedonia and USA), led to a new family of drugs for type 2 diabetes and obesity. Are GLP-1 agonists. The first to be approved was semaglutide, the active ingredient in the now famous drug Ozempic. Science Magazine identified this type of medicine as greatest scientific achievement of 2023.

The winners contributed to the understanding of what substances in the body are altered in diabetes and how, if this imbalance is corrected, patients with type 2 diabetes can control their glucose levelspromoting your overall health.

These drugs act as a hormone called glucagon-like peptide 1, hence the family name (GLP-1). When blood glucose levels begin to rise, these medications stimulate the production of insulin, which helps bring them back to normal.

Lowering blood glucose levels helps control type 2 diabetes, but It is not known exactly how these medications lead to weight loss. Experts believe they help control hunger. Semaglutide also has protective effect against cardiovascular diseases in obese people.

For his part, Jeffrey Friedman discovered the hormone leptin in 1994, which acts on the area of ​​the brain that controls appetite. Changes in leptin levels affect the risk of obesity.

Ozempia fever

Regardless of its scientific effectiveness, semaglutide in commercial form (Ozempic) is a “viral” drug, as several celebrities have reported using it. It was said Donald Trump and Kim Kardashian They are among them, although none of them admitted it.

The latest edition of the Met Gala featured speculation about celebrities who quickly lost weight to fit into the couture outfits that captured the attention of the time.

Speculation goes so far as to describe the appearance of some of these celebrities as “Ozempian face”, meaning the appearance of sagging and wrinkles associated with weight loss in record time.

Since all medications have side effects, Ozempic for face should not be a major concern for those who have used these medications frivolously and without proper medical supervision.