35.Ozempic: Even Better than We Thought?

The good news about Ozempic just seems to keep on coming. No longer merely a key diabetes medicine or for some people, a miracle weight-loss drug, Ozempic is now being talked about as a potential game-changer in the fight against everything from cancer to Alzheimer’s disease.

Our talkative team dig below the flashy headlines to see if the research matches the clickbait headlines and, spoiler alert, it seems like it really does!

See if you agree and let us know what your favorite Ozempic story is 😊

Episode Resources:

We’re learning more about Ozempic almost every day. Scientists are able to collect data at an almost unprecedented rate, at least in part because to date, a whopping 1 in 8 American adults have used Ozempic or a similar drug, wow!

Here are a few of the things we’ve learned about Ozempic that go far beyond its diabetes and obesity management talents:

Learn more about Ozempic’s actions in reducing the rate of relapse for people with opioid and alcohol misuse disorders – here’s the NPR article and here’s the scientific research they were summarizing.

And how about those dramatic findings about the reductions in heart attacks and strokes in those patients using Ozempic? Here’s the British Heart Foundation page and the research they were quoting.

Is it true that Ozempic appeared to reduce the likelihood of ten different types of cancer in patients with type 2 diabetes? Yup! Here’s the Healthline article and here’s the research they were basing their thoughts on.

As if all the above wasn’t enough, scientists have demonstrated a reduction in Alzheimer’s disease in patients with type 2 diabetes – here’s the web link that Tess found and here’s the research that they were so excited about.

There’s no such thing as a drug without side effects and yes, we did find a couple of areas of concern when it comes to potentially undesirable side effects for Ozempic. Here’s the anecdotal story about a patient with pancreatitis that Tess mentioned, followed by some research I managed to dig up.

And if you’re interested in that rare form of blindness that seemed to occur more often in patients using Ozempic, especially, and unexplainedly, non-diabetic patients, check these links out.

To finish on a positive note, check out this article that does a great job overviewing what we know about surprise babies, fertility and Ozempic!