Obesity treatment could be revolutionized by a hunger-blocking medicine

• A new medicine could help obese patients shed as much as 24kg.
• Tirzepatide, is a weekly injection that targets the hormone ghrelin, which controls our hunger.
• It cuts the amount of calories a person consumes by substantially diminishing their urge to eat.

According to a large new study, a new medicine could help obese patients shed as much as 24kg – nearly four stone.

The medicine, known as tirzepatide, is a weekly injection that targets the hormone ghrelin, which controls our hunger.

The medicine (which was originally created to treat diabetes) cuts the amount of calories a person consumes by substantially diminishing their urge to eat.

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It’s being developed by Lilly, a major pharmaceutical company in the United States, and it has the potential to revolutionize obesity therapy.

People who received weekly injections of the medicine dropped (on average) 22.5 percent of their body weight, according to research published in the New England Journal of Medicine. However, diarrhoea and vomiting were reported as adverse effects.

Over 2,500 people from nine nations participated in the double-blind, randomized study. The volunteers, who weighed an average of 105 kilogram (230 pounds), were given injections in low (5mg), medium (10mg), or high (15mg) doses — or a placebo.

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The results of the 72-week study revealed that the highest dose of the medicine was the most beneficial.

‘Tirzepatide is the first experimental treatment to achieve a weight loss of more than 20% on average in a phase 3 research, reaffirming our faith in its ability to help individuals living with obesity,’ said Jeff Emmick, MD, PhD, Lilly’s vice president of product development.

The higher the dose, the more severe the negative effects. Participants also reported nausea and constipation, in addition to diarrhoea and vomiting.

Unlike bariatric surgery, which permanently alters a person’s eating habits, taking a weight-loss medicine can be stopped at any time.

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‘Despite its impact on physical, psychological, and metabolic health, which can include increased risk of hypertension, heart disease, cancer, and decreased survival, obesity is a chronic disease that often does not receive the same standard of care as other conditions,’ said Dr. Louis J. Aronne, an obesity expert.

Lilly hopes to have the medicine on the market in the next few years, but says further research is needed to see if it can also be used to prevent type 2 diabetes.