Fourteen years ago, semaglutide’s older cousin (Ozempic and Wegovy) entered the market. The drug liraglutide is sold under brand names Victoria AND Saxenda.
Patents for Victoza and Saxenda now expired. Likewise other pharmaceutical corporations working develop “generic” versions. These are prone to be a fraction of the running costs, i.e around 400 Australian dollars monthly.
So how does liraglutide compare to semaglutide?
How do these medicines work?
Liraglutide was not originally developed as a slimming treatment. Like semaglutide (Ozempic), it originally treated type 2 diabetes.
Liraglutide and semaglutide medications are often called GLP-1 mimetics, which suggests they mimic the natural hormone GLP-1. This hormone is released from the small intestine in response to food and works in several ways to enhance the best way the body handles glucose (sugar).
How do they stop hunger?
Liraglutide works in several areas of the unconscious a part of the brain, particularly the hypothalamus, which controls metabolism, and in parts of the brainstem answerable for transmitting information to the hypothalamus in regards to the body’s dietary status.
His actions seem to cut back hunger in two alternative ways. First, it helps you are feeling full faster, making smaller meals more satisfying. Second, it changes yourmotivational meaning” towards food, which suggests it reduces the quantity of food you’re on the lookout for.
The original formulation of liraglutide, intended for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, was marketed as Victoza. Its ability to cause weight reduction was obvious soon after entering the market.
Shortly thereafter, a stronger preparation called Saxenda appeared releasedwhich was intended for weight reduction in obese people.
How much weight are you able to lose using liraglutide?
People react otherwise and shed weight to various degrees. But here we will highlight the typical weight reduction that users can expect. Some will lose more (sometimes rather more), some will lose less, and a small proportion will not respond.
The first GLP-1 mimetic drug was exenatide (Bayetta). It continues to be available for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, but there are currently no generics. Exenatide does provide some weight reduction, but it is sort of modest, normally around 3-5% body weight.
In the case of liraglutide, people taking the drug to treat obesity will use a stronger drug (Saxenda), which normally gives roughly 10% weight reduction.
Semaglutide in a stronger form called Wegovy normally causes 15% weight reduction.
The newest GLP-1 mimetic drug available on the market, tyrzepatid (Mounjaro for type 2 diabetes and Zepbound for weight reduction), causes weight reduction of roughly 25% body weight.
What happens if you stop taking them?
Despite the effectiveness of those drugs in weight reduction, they don’t appear to vary the patient’s established weight.
Therefore, in lots of cases, when people stop taking them, they experience: rebound to original weight.
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What is the dose and how often does it have to be taken?
Liraglutide (Victoza) for type 2 diabetes is identical drug as Saxenda for weight reduction, but Saxenda has the next dose.
Although the goal of motion of every preparation is identical (GLP-1 receptor), as a way to control glucose levels in type 2 diabetes, liraglutide must reach (primarily) the pancreas.
However, to realize weight reduction, it must reach a part of the brain. This means crossing the blood-brain barrier – and never everyone does this, which suggests you might have to take more.
All current formulations of the GLP-1 mimetic are injectable. This will not change when generics of liraglutide appear available on the market.
However, they differ within the frequency of injection. Liraglutide is given as an injection once a day, while semaglutide and tirzepatide are given once per week. (This makes semaglutide and tyrzepatide rather more attractive, but we can’t see semaglutide as generics until 2033.)
What are the negative effects?
Because all of those drugs have the identical purpose within the body, they mostly have the identical negative effects.
The most typical are various gastrointestinal disorders, incl nausea, vomiting, flatulence, constipation and diarrhea. These occur partly because these medications slow the passage of food from the stomach, but they will generally be managed by slowly increasing the dose.
Recent clinical data suggests that slowing gastric emptying can be and will be problematic for some people increase the danger of food entering the lungs during surgerysubsequently it is vital to inform your doctor in case you are taking any of those medicines.
Since these are injections, they also can result in injection site reactions.
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Several cases of thyroid disease and pancreatitis have been reported during clinical trials. However, it is just not clear whether this may be the case attributed to drugs that mimic GLP-1.
Drugs that mimic GLP-1 have been found to work in animals negatively affect the event of the embryo. There is currently no data from controlled clinical trials regarding their use while pregnant, nonetheless animal data suggest that these drugs mustn’t be used while pregnant.
Who can profit from them?
GLP-1 mimetic drugs used for weight reduction (Vega, SaxendaZepbound/Mounjaro) are approved to be used by obese people and are intended to be used only together with weight loss plan and exercise.
These drugs must be prescribed by a health care provider and are usually not covered by the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme for obesity, which is considered one of the explanations they’re expensive. However, over time, generic versions of liraglutide will likely develop into cheaper.