A weight-loss injection could slow ageing and offer benefits far beyond what was imagined, researchers have suggested.
Semaglutide, which is available under brand names Wegovy and Ozempic, cuts the risk of death in overweight people with cardiovascular disease, according to several studies.
While Wegovy is available through the NHS for weight loss if certain criteria are met, Ozempic is currently only prescribed for type 2 diabetes – though both contain semaglitude.
Published in JACC, the flagship journal of the American College of Cardiology, the research shows semaglutide could have “far-reaching benefits beyond what we initially imagined”.
That’s according to Professor Harlan M Krumholz from the Yale School of Medicine, who is quoted in multiple reports as saying: “Is it a fountain of youth?”
“I would say if you’re improving someone’s cardiometabolic health substantially, then you are putting them in a position to live longer and better,” he said.
“It’s not just avoiding heart attacks. These are health promoters. It wouldn’t surprise me that improving people’s health this way actually slows down the ageing process.”
Researchers found participants who took semaglutide died at a lower rate from all causes, as well from cardiovascular causes and COVID-19.
The drug was also found to improve heart failure symptoms.
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Participants – all 17,604 of them – were aged 45 or older, overweight, had established cardiovascular disease but not diabetes and were tracked for more than three years.
A total of 833 participants died during the study, with 58% of the deaths related to cardiovascular causes and 42% from others.
Infection was the most common cause of death beyond cardiovascular, but it occurred at a lower rate in the group taking semaglutide than in those taking a placebo.
Wegovy, which is administered through an injection, is available on the NHS, but only through specialist weight management services.
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Patients with a BMI over 30, or more than 27 with one weight-related comorbidity, can access the drug.
Semaglutide works by mimicking the hormone GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide one) to manage hunger and slow down digestion.
It is also the active ingredient in Ozempic, which was the first of the weight loss jabs to blow up on TikTok.
The studies were presented at the European Society of Cardiology Conference 2024 in London.
