Mounjaro (tirzepatide): The newest diabetes and obesity medication (explanation and overview)

[Music] this is the newest injectable medication for the treatment of diabetes and obesity and it joins a rapidly advancing class of obesity medications that target specific hormonal receptors in the body these medications are revolutionizing the medical treatment of obesity they are markedly more effective than prior medications in fact terzepatite represents the most effective obesity medication ever developed note that at the time of filming this video terzepatite is not yet fda approved for the treatment of obesity it is approved for the treatment of diabetes and we anticipate fda approval for obesity in the coming months so let's briefly review the current fda approved weight loss medications just to establish a framework for this discussion so phentermine which has been available since the 1950s leads to an average weight loss of about five percent of body weight if you combine phentermine with topiramate which is a migraine medication that makes a brand name kusemia that combination can produce an average of around eight to ten percent weight loss now contrave which is a combination of bupropion an antidepressant and naltrexone an addiction prevention medication produces around four to five percent weight loss sexenda which was the first injectable weight loss medication was approved back in 2014 and this leads to an average weight loss of about eight percent of body weight now the next medication that was approved by the fda for the treatment of obesity was a full seven years later and that was we govi which is cemagletide 2.4 milligrams and this was improved in 2021 and was a major leap in efficacy producing an average weight loss of about 15 percent at one year and that's with a once weekly injection so that's nearly double the weight loss that we saw with saxenda now we go the targets and boosts a hormone known as glucagon like peptide 1 or glp1 this is a critical hormone that controls weight through the brain and through the digestive tract so higher levels of glp1 lead to less appetite a prolonged sense of satiety uh and ultimately weight loss these medications also help to manage glucose levels and that's why they're also effective for the treatment of diabetes so how does terzepatite work like cemaglotide it also targets the glp1 receptor to boost glp levels but it also targets a second receptor known as gip the actions of glp1 and gip are synergistic so they actually boost the effect of each other so terzepatide combines the actions of glp1 and gip receptors leading to greater overall weight loss so what is the average weight loss with terzepatide the recently published surmount trial established the efficacy of trizepative for weight loss this was a phase three randomized controlled study of 2539 people and they were randomized to receive either terzepatide or placebo furthermore terzepatide was evaluated at three different strengths five milligrams 10 milligrams and 15 milligrams so after 72 weeks of treatment the following results were seen with placebo the average weight loss was three percent it's about what we'd expect with just kind of diet and exercise with five milligrams of terzepa tide the average weight loss was 15 percent with 10 milligrams of transeptide that weight loss increased to 19 percent and at 15 milligrams the average weight loss was a remarkable 20.9 percent as a reminder with we govi the previous weight loss leader the average weight loss was 15 percent so how is trezepatide taken terzepatite is taken as a once weekly injection the medication comes supplied in a pre-filled pen there's no visible needle and patients use the medication once per week patients taking terzepatide can experience some side effects in fact the most common side effects are gastrointestinal in nature this is very similar to the side effects seen with cemagletide they include nausea diarrhea and constipation most of these are mild and transient occurring during that dose escalation period in that same surmount trial that i mentioned up to seven percent of patients actually needed to stop their treatment due to these side effects other very rare side effects could include pancreatitis gallbladder disease though these were actually no more frequent with terzepaty than with placebo in that same trial so who is a good candidate for a terzepatide once trazepatite is fda approved for the treatment of obesity a good candidate would be an adult with a body mass index of greater than 30 or greater than 27 with an obesity related medical condition such as diabetes high blood pressure high cholesterol or sleep apnea candidates for this medication must be willing and comfortable to use an injectable medication on a weekly basis this is critically important you must be willing to use this long term obesity is a chronic and relapsing condition and we must treat it as such so this is not a medication that you should take for a short time and then stop once you start it you really want to remain on it assuming it's working for you and you're tolerating it well patients with obesity and diabetes may ultimately be the best candidates for terzepatite because it targets both of these conditions and may allow patients to wean off of other diabetes medications such as insulin which actually promote weight gain terzepatite is unquestionably a breakthrough an average weight loss of 20 or more is remarkable and significantly higher than any prior medication we know that health conditions such as diabetes high blood pressure high cholesterol begin to improve and even resolve when someone loses 10 percent of their body weight so with this medication the average patient will lose double that so when you recognize that the average weight loss with bariatric surgery which is the most effective obesity treatment by far is around 25 to 30 percent of body weight the numbers we're seeing with terzepatite are truly impressive unfortunately we know that patients really don't want bariatric surgery in fact of those who would be eligible only one percent ever pursue it so these alternative options are essential if we're going to tackle the obesity epidemic so all of this is very exciting and terzepathi represents an immensely promising medication for obesity and diabetes treatment but there are definite barriers and obstacles for patients now first and most importantly is cost we saw this with wigovi the immense initial enthusiasm was clearly tampered by the cost of the medication with the average out-of-pocket monthly cost greater than one thousand dollars it's simply not financially viable we kind of anticipate the same thing with terzepatite this is the biggest obstacle in the united states it's clear that investing in obesity treatment will pay huge dividends improving and reversing obesity and all of its related medical conditions ultimately that leads to decreased health care costs unfortunately insurers have a very short-sighted view of obesity treatment insurers tend to view obesity as a problem of willpower rather than a disease and that is blatantly wrong obesity is a disease and must be treated as such so what type of support is needed for patients who are using terzepatite trazepatite is best provided by a comprehensive weight loss facility this means a physician or medical provider who is obesity medicine trained and skilled at managing obesity and its related conditions further patients must have access to nutrition support a licensed dietitian in particular will be best able to assist patients in their weight loss journey optimizing nutrition and improving behavior over time and a structured exercise regimen will only further enhance the health and weight loss benefits so ultimately a comprehensive program is essential for patients to fully succeed with terzepatite here at trueyou weight loss we are thrilled to see new and more effective options for patients with obesity whether used alone or in combination with the weight loss procedure the newest class of obesity medications such as terzepatide is truly making an impact after many years of stagnation in obesity treatments with the advent of newer medications as well as less invasive weight loss procedures there are now multiple effective options for patients who don't desire bariatric surgery for more information on weight loss medications obesity treatment and non-surgical weight loss options visit our website at trueyou weightloss.com

Channel: Christopher McGowan, MD

Views: 187,276

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Id: wZPLJwlhdn4

Length: 7min 42sec (462 seconds)

Published: Thu Jul 28 2022