But understanding why this happens with semaglutide, tirzepatide and other GLP-1 drugs could be crucial to understanding their longer-term health consequences and how best to prescribe them in future
A healthcare professional can administer these injections
Their half-lives are 13 hours (LIRA) and 7 days (SEMA), allowing for daily and weekly subcutaneous administration, respectively, thanks to the structural modifications introduced.5,10 Effects on obesity and glycaemic control Both LIRA 3 mg and SEMA 2.4 mg have demonstrated a strong appetite-suppressing and satiety-promoting effect, as well as a delaying effect on gastric emptying.11,12 The SCALE programme highlighted the efficacy of LIRA 3 mg in reducing body weight and waist circumference13 and confirmed a reduction in HbA1c levels in individuals with diabetes, along with a decreased progression from prediabetes to diabetes after three years of treatment14 (Table 1)
Heres where it gets interesting, and where the science is still catching up
These findings are not trivial, but they exist several steps removed from human application