The drug semaglutide, commonly known by the brand names Ozempic or Wegovy, was originally developed to help people with type 2 diabetes control their blood sugar levels.
However, scientists have found that it may also help with other health problems. Clinical trials have shown that semaglutide may be effective weight lossand a whole bunch of hundreds of individuals around the globe use it for this purpose.
Evidence has also shown that the drug can help with treatment heart failure AND chronic kidney disease in people with obesity and sort 2 diabetes.
Now a study published within the journal New England Journal of Medicine suggested that semaglutide may improve knee pain in people with obesity and osteoarthritis. So what did this study show, and the way can semaglutide pain and osteoarthritis be linked?
Osteoarthritis and obesity
Osteoarthritis is a common joint disease affecting 2.1 million Australians. Most people with osteoarthritis experience pain and have difficulty performing on a regular basis activities comparable to walking. The knee is there mostly affected joint by osteoarthritis.
Being obese or obese is primary risk factor for osteoarthritis of the knee joint. The relationship between these two conditions is complex. It involves a combination of increased knee load, metabolic aspects comparable to high cholesterol and blood sugar levels and inflammation.
For example, elevated blood sugar levels increase the production of inflammatory molecules within the body, which may damage the cartilage within the knee and result in development of osteoarthritis.
Weight loss is strongly advisable to cut back pain associated with knee osteoarthritis in obese or obese people. International AND Australian guidelines They suggest that losing just 5% of your body weight may be helpful.
However, for many individuals, losing weight through food regimen and exercise alone can be difficult. One study from the UK found that people with obesity were lower than one in ten prone to lose 5% or more of their body weight every year.
Semaglutide has recently entered the market as a potential alternative path to weight loss. It comes from a class of medicine often called GLP-1 receptor agonists and works by increasing the sensation of fullness.
Semaglutide for osteoarthritis?
Justification for the above-mentioned recent research was that although we all know that weight loss improves the symptoms of knee osteoarthritis, the consequences of GLP-1 receptor agonists haven’t yet been studied. So researchers set out to know what effect semaglutide might have on knee osteoarthritis pain, in addition to the effect on body weight.
They randomly assigned 407 people with obesity and moderate osteoarthritis to certainly one of two groups. One group received semaglutide once a week, while the opposite group received a placebo. Both groups were treated for 68 weeks and received advice on food regimen and physical activity. At the top of the treatment phase, researchers measured changes in knee pain, knee function, and body weight.
As expected, people taking semaglutide lost more weight than those within the placebo group. People taking semaglutide lost a mean of about 13% of their body weight, while those taking a placebo lost a mean of about 3%. More than 70% of individuals within the semaglutide group lost at the least 10% of their body weight compared with just over 9% of individuals within the placebo group.
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The study found that semaglutide reduced knee pain significantly greater than placebo. Participants who took semaglutide reported an extra 14-point reduction in pain on a scale of 0–100 in comparison with the placebo group.
This is far greater than the reduction in pain for an additional patient recent research amongst people with obesity and knee osteoarthritis. This study examined the consequences of a food regimen and exercise program in comparison with an attention control (through which participants receive details about nutrition and physical activity). The results showed only a 3-point difference between the intervention group and the control group on the identical scale.
The degree of pain relief reported within the semaglutide trial can also be greater than that reported for commonly used painkillers comparable to anti-inflammatory agents, opioids AND antidepressants.
Semaglutide also improved knee function in comparison with placebo. For example, individuals who took semaglutide could walk about 42 meters further in a six-minute walk test than people taking a placebo.
How can semaglutide reduce knee pain?
It just isn’t entirely clear how semaglutide helps treat knee pain brought on by osteoarthritis. One explanation may be that when a person loses weight, there is less stress on the joints, which reduces pain.
However, recent research also suggests that semaglutide and other GLP-1 receptor agonists may have these effects anti-inflammatory properties and may even protect against cartilage wear and tear.
Although the outcomes of this new study are promising, it is just too early to think about semaglutide a “miracle drug” for knee osteoarthritis. And since this study was funded by the pharmaceutical company that produces semaglutide, it should be vital to conduct independent studies in the long run to verify the outcomes or not.
The study also used stringent criteria, excluding certain groups, comparable to people taking opioids for knee pain. One in seven Australians see their GP for knee osteoarthritis they were prescribed opioids. The majority of study participants were white (61%) and feminine (82%). This means the study may not fully reflect the typical person affected by knee osteoarthritis and obesity.
It must also be taken into consideration that semaglutide may cause a variety of unintended effects, including gastrointestinal symptoms and fatigue.
There is a few concern that semaglutide may reduce muscle mass AND bone densitythough we’re still learning more about it.
Moreover, access to it may be difficult.
I actually have osteoarthritis of the knee, what should I do?
Osteoarthritis is a disease brought on by many aspects and it’s important to treat it multi-faceted approach manage it. Weight loss is a very important element for people who find themselves obese or obese, but so are other elements of self-control. This may include physical activity, pacing strategies, and other positive lifestyle changes comparable to improved sleep, healthy eating, and so forth.