muscle loss and liver health in glp-1 use: clinical trial targets key side effects for overall health
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a clinical trial showed that a new glp-1 dual agonist reduced muscle loss to just 10 per cent of overall weight loss.
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the use of glp-1s has been well-received for conditions such as obesity. that said, weight loss while taking these drugs comes from all over mass. research shows that out of the weight lost, anywhere between 15 to 60 per cent could be lean muscle mass, not just fat.
since lean muscle mass is vital to overall health, addressing this unwanted side effect is exactly what researchers set out to do in the phase iii syncrhonize-1 clinical trial of survodutide, a dual-agonist glp-1 produced by boehringer ingelheim.
the drug also addresses fat in the liver, as well as visceral fat, the type that wraps around organs and is the most dangerous type when it comes to overall health.
glp-1s and muscle loss
lean muscle mass does a lot for your health, including improving daily mobility, ensuring your metabolism works as it should, supporting bone density and enhancing weight management.
when people living with obesity set out to reach a healthy weight by taking glp-1s, they experience overall weight loss as opposed to just fat loss. while research varies on how much lean muscle mass is lost alongside fat, some suggest that, depending on the drug and the person, you can expect a loss of 20 to 30 per cent of overall body weight.
the goal of future metabolic and weight-loss drugs is to target fat stores with minimal effect on muscle mass.
survodutide showing promise
the phase iii syncrhonize-1 trial recently conducted on survodutide has shown that preserving lean muscle mass is possible with the right combination. the 76-week trial investigated survodutide in adults living with obesity or overweight, without type 2 diabetes.
the drug itself works like other glp-1s to control appetite and sense of fullness and satiety. however, the additional glucagon agonist takes things a step further by not only preserving muscle mass but also targeting specific fat types that are most likely to cause long-term health issues, especially those related to liver health and visceral fat.
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“it decreases fat in the liver, and also it works on the metabolic function of the fat,” said dr. rasha eldesouky abouelabbas, vice president, medical and regulatory affairs at boehringer ingelheim. the study reported a 63 per cent reduction in liver fat.
“around 75 per cent of the patients with obesity have masld,” said dr. eldesouky abouelabbas, noting that because masld is so prevalent in patients living with obesity, protecting the liver is vital.
the drug also reduced visceral fat by 34 per cent, with only 10 per cent of the weight loss coming from lean muscle mass, suggesting a possible avenue with glp-1s that limit muscle loss while targeting the worst kind of fat for overall health.
the drug works by activating glucagon receptors, which regulate energy use, and drives the body to burn stored visceral fat and ectopic fat in organs, specifically the liver, rather than lean muscle or other body tissues.
utilizing a targeted approach
as obesity is a chronic disease that can affect people in many different ways and lead to several other health complications, establishing a targeted approach can foster overall health more effectively.
while the drug is still set to undergo many other trials, such as the syncrhonize-hera that will test it on women and the elevate-liver to assess its role in cardiac function in people living with masld, the results of this phase 3 trial show promise for a new direction for targeted therapies that tackle obesity and obesity-related complications without harming overall health through lean muscle loss.
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