People taking popular GLP-1 obesity drugs who remain on low starter doses will lose some weight but may still experience side effects, although significantly less nausea than those who graduate to higher manufacturer-recommended doses, a new study suggests.
The finding that patients who never escalated past the initiation dose still lost some weight suggests the drugs have a measurable pharmacologic effect well below the maintenance doses that clinical trials have been built around, said study leader Venky Soundararajan of data analytics firm nference. And they are unlikely to experience the double-digit weight-loss percentages seen with the higher doses, the study found. Tirzepatide is not yet approved specifically for kidney protection.
Many patients never achieve the recommended maintenance dose due to tolerability, access, cost, supply or their individual goals. Because it has received U.S. approval to reduce the risk of worsening chronic renal disease, semaglutide is currently considered better for kidneys. Researchers analyzed data on 534 patients who continued to take injectable semaglutide at the 0.25-milligram starter dose for at least six months, and the same number of patients who stayed on tirzepatide at the 2.5-mg starter dose for at least that long. At one year, the percentage of body weight lost on these lowest approved doses averaged 5.5% with tirzepatide and 2.2% with semaglutide, researchers reported on Monday in Biology Methods & Protocols. The Lilly drug also was associated with more constipation (32.6% vs 22.4%), muscle cramps (8.3% vs 4%), lumbar disc disease (3.3% vs 0.3%), shortness of breath on exertion (9.6% vs 6.8%), and other adverse events.
