Treating Kidney Disease with Diet Pills

Semaglutide, a compound found in the diabetes and obesity drugs Ozempic and Wegovy, significantly reduced the risk of complications, heart disease and death in patients with type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease in a large clinical trial.

Day.Az cited lent.az as reporting that the New York Times reported this.

According to the report, these results could change the way we treat patients with incurable chronic kidney disease. “This is as good as it gets,” said Kathryn Tuttle, professor of medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine and study author.

The trial, funded by Ozempic maker Novo Nordisk, was so successful that the company ended it early. The company has asked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to update Ozempic’s label to say the drug can also be used to slow the progression of complications in people with chronic kidney disease. The study involved 3,533 people with kidney disease and type 2 diabetes, about half of whom received weekly injections of semaglutide and half of whom received weekly injections of a placebo.

The researchers followed the participants for an average of three and a half years and found that those who took semaglutide were 24% less likely to develop severe kidney disease, such as losing at least half of their kidney function or requiring dialysis. People who received semaglutide were less likely to die from cardiovascular disease or any other cause, and their kidney function declined more slowly.

Kidney damage usually develops gradually, and symptoms are often not noticeable until the disease is advanced. Doctors are trying to prevent kidney function decline with available medications and lifestyle changes, said Dr. Melanie Henig, a nephrologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center who was not involved in the study. But even with treatment, the disease can progress to the point where a patient needs dialysis or a kidney transplant.

Dr. George Bachlis, a professor of medicine at the University of Chicago and an author of the study, said the study participants were very sick — and some of the study participants experienced serious complications that are more common in people with advanced chronic kidney disease.

In particular, the results are promising for people with advanced kidney disease. “We can help people live longer,” said another author of the study, Dr. Vlado Perkovic, a nephrologist and kidney researcher at the University of New South Wales in Sydney.

Kidney disease

Diabetes is a leading cause of chronic kidney disease, which occurs when the kidneys don’t work properly. In advanced stages, the kidneys are so damaged that they can’t filter the blood properly. It causes fluid and waste to build up in the blood, which can worsen high blood pressure and increase your risk of heart disease and stroke.