Semaglutide

Overall Health Benefits of Semaglutide

• Promotes fat loss [1-33]
• Fights type 2 diabetes [34-57]
• Prevents cognitive decline [58-69]
• Lowers blood pressure [4] [70-75]
• Lowers risk of cardiovascular disease [76-83]

What is Semaglutide?

Semaglutide is an injectable FDA-approved medication for type 2 diabetes that is known to possess fat-burning properties. It belongs to a class of medications known as glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RA). At higher doses, semaglutide promotes fat loss by suppressing your appetite. When combined with lifestyle modification such as proper diet and exercise, semaglutide produces amazing results.

How Semaglutide Works

As a glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1 RA), it increases the secretion of the hormone insulin which helps the cells to effectively utilize energy. This process ensures proper fat storage and decreases blood sugar levels. Semaglutide also suppresses your appetite and slows gastric emptying by blocking certain chemicals in the brain. This in turn helps promote fat loss.

Chemical Structure of Semaglutide

Research on Semaglutide

Promotes Fat Loss

Semaglutide’s fat-burning properties are backed by a number of high-quality studies:

1. In overweight and obese participants, semaglutide administration once a week resulted in relevant reduction in body weight. [1]
2. In obese people, administration of semaglutide once a week via subcutaneous injects produced superior weight loss compared to placebo. [2]
3. In obese patients with type 2 diabetes, administration of semaglutide demonstrated huge weight loss efficacy. [3]
4. In overweight and obese adults, treatment with 2.4 mg semaglutide once weekly resulted in continued weight loss for the following 48 weeks. [4]
5. A study showed that combination of physical activity and dietary supplementation of semaglutide resulted in greater weight loss. [5]
6. In obese, overweight, and type-2 diabetic adults, administration of 2.4 mg semaglutide once a week decreased bodyweight. [6]
7. Among overweight and obese patients, Semaglutide used as an intensive behavioral therapy and initial low-calorie diet result to greater weight loss during 68 weeks. [7]
8. A study showed that semaglutide induced weight loss in subjects with type 2 diabetes regardless of baseline body mass index (BMI). [8]
9. In obese adults, administration of semaglutide 2.4 mg once a week suppressed appetite, improved control of eating, and reduced food cravings, compared to placebo. [9]
10. In obese subjects, semaglutide administration once a week reduced appetite and food cravings, and was associated with better control of eating and lower relative preference for fatty, energy‐dense foods. [10]
11. A study showed that semaglutide administration once a day produced weight loss by reducing HbA_1c, a measure of blood sugar. [11]
12. A study showed that intake of semaglutide once a week improved blood sugar control and reduced body weight in patients with type-2 diabetes. [12]
13. Studies showed that semaglutide lowers body weight by directly and indirectly affecting the activity of neural pathways involved in food intake, reward, and energy expenditure, without any adverse side effects. [13-15]
14. Studies suggest that semaglutide is superior to other weight loss medications with regards to efficacy and cost-effectiveness. [16-24]
15. In overweight and obese adults, once per week administration of semaglutide resulted in significant and sustained weight reduction. [25]
16. In obese patients, semaglutide was well-tolerated and induced significant weight loss. [26]
17. A review of studies showed that once weekly semaglutide was successful in inducing significant weight loss. [27]
18. A study showed that oral semaglutide was effective in body weight reduction. [28]
19. A review of studies showed that semaglutide demonstrated superior efficacy in obesity compared to other anti-diabetic drugs. [29]
20. In obese or overweight adults, semaglutide administration resulted in significant weight loss. [30]
21. In obese or overweight adults, semaglutide administration in addition to weight management program was effective in inducing weight reduction. [31]
22. A study showed that semaglutide offered the greatest weight-reducing effect among any obesity medication. [32]
23. In obese or overweight adults, once-weekly administration of semaglutide resulted in significant weight loss. [33]

Fights Type 2 Diabetes

Studies show that semaglutide, an FDA-approved medication for diabetes, has potent blood-sugar lowering effect:

1. In patients with type 2 diabetes, semaglutide administration once a week resulted in decreased blood sugar levels. [34]
2. A study showed that oral administration of semaglutide in type 2 diabetics reduced glycosylated hemoglobin, which is chemically linked to sugar. [35]
3. In patients with type 2 diabetes, oral semaglutide improved blood sugar control. [36]
4. A study showed that oral semaglutide can effectively and safely reduce blood sugar, body weight and systolic blood pressure. [37]
5. In adults with type 2 diabetes, clinical trials showed the efficacy of semaglutide in reducing blood sugar levels. [38]
6. In adult type 2 diabetic patients, once per week therapy with semaglutide resulted in significant reductions in blood sugar levels and body weight after 3 to 6 months. [39]
7. A review of studies showed that oral semaglutide administration is effective in treating type 2 diabetes without increasing the incidence of major adverse effects. [40]
8. In Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes, semaglutide was efficacious in reducing blood sugar levels and was well-tolerated. [41]
9. In type 2 diabetic patients, semaglutide was shown to be highly effective in controlling blood sugar levels compared with other diabetic medications. [42-57]

Prevents Cognitive Decline

Evidence shows that semaglutide has the capacity to prevent age-related cognitive decline:

1. In mice models of Parkinson’s disease (PD), semaglutide produced significant neuroprotective and cognitive-enhancing effects. [58]
2. In PD mouse models, semaglutide attenuated the effects of the disease by protecting the brain neurons against injury. [59]
3. In animal models, semaglutide protected against diabetes and obesity-related cognitive deficits. [60]
4. In a mouse model of PD, semaglutide exerted its neuroprotective effects by reducing motor impairments. [61]
5. Studies in rodent models of Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases and mouse models of ischemic stroke have shown that semaglutide prevented brain neuron damage and memory impairment. [62-65]
6. In non-diabetic rat model of acute ischemic stroke, semaglutide reduced infarct size (dead brain tissue) by up to 90%. [66]
7. In a Parkinson’s disease mouse model, semaglutide alleviated the inflammation response, reduced lipid peroxidation (oxidative stress), and inhibited programmed cell death. [67-69]

Lowers Blood Pressure

Semaglutide has also been shown to have blood pressure-lowering effects:

1. A review of multiple studies found that semaglutide lowered blood pressure compared to placebo. [70]
2. In patients with type 2 diabetes, oral semaglutide effectively and safely reduced systolic blood pressure. [71]
3. Studies found that glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists such as semaglutide can significantly reduce elevated blood pressure with a low risk of adverse effects. [72-73]
4. A study found that both doses of semaglutide (0.5 and 1.0 mg) were associated with reductions in systolic blood pressure. [74-75]
5. In overweight and obese adults, subcutaneous injection of semaglutide reduced systolic blood pressure after 20 weeks. [4]

Lowers Risk of Cardiovascular Disease

Evidence shows that semaglutide can help lower the risk of heart disease possibly through its beneficial effects on obesity, blood sugar, and blood pressure:

1. In patients with type 2 diabetes, oral semaglutide reduced the rate of cardiovascular death and nonfatal myocardial infarction. [76]
2. In subjects with type 2 diabetes and high cardiovascular disease risk, semaglutide (0.5 and 1.0 mg) administration once a week significantly reduced major adverse cardiovascular events. [77-78]
3. In patients with type 2 diabetes who are at high risk for cardiovascular disease, the addition of semaglutide to standard treatment decreased cardiovascular risk by reducing blood sugar and body weight. [79]
4. A study found that semaglutide decreased the risk of atherosclerosis (plaque formation within the heart arteries) and other cardiovascular events in diabetic patients. [80-83]

Associated Side Effects of Semaglutide

Semaglutide side effects are very uncommon. There have been some side effects associated with the use of this drug wherein the patient had one of the issues listed below at some point while being on semaglutide. However, these side effects weren’t confirmed to be associated with the treatment and could have been a coincidence and not related to the use of semaglutide. Despite this, it was listed as a side effect associated with semaglutide even these associated side effects are very uncommon.

Side effects associated with semaglutide may include the following:

• Abdominal pain
• Constipation
• Diarrhea
• Loss of appetite
• Nausea
• Vomiting

Semaglutide vs Liraglutide

An overwhelming body of clinical evidence shows that semaglutide is superior to liraglutide (weight loss medication) in reducing body weight and blood sugar levels:

1. In obese patients, semaglutide injection in combination with dietary and physical activity counselling produced clinically relevant weight loss over 52 weeks compared with liraglutide at all doses. [6]
2. In patients with obesity but without type 2 diabetes, semaglutide subcutaneous injection once daily demonstrated superior weight loss efficacy compared with both placebo and once daily 3.0 mg liraglutide. [4]
3. In adults with type 2 diabetes, subcutaneous semaglutide 1 mg once per week was superior to liraglutide in reducing HbA1c (a measure of blood sugar) and body weight. [7]
4. In diabetic patients who were aged 18 years or older, once-daily oral semaglutide (dose escalated to 14 mg) for 52 weeks was superior to once-daily subcutaneous liraglutide and placebo in reducing blood sugar levels and body weight. [43]
5. In subjects with inadequately controlled type 2 diabetes, semaglutide-induced weight loss was consistently greater than liraglutide, regardless of baseline BMI. [9]
6. A study reported that semaglutide demonstrated superior HbA1c and body weight reductions compared with liraglutide 1.2 mg. [15]
7. The global SUSTAIN and PIONEER phase III clinical trial programs found that subcutaneous semaglutide 1 mg once a week reduced HbA1c by 1.5-1.8% after 30-56 weeks, which was significantly more than liraglutide. [84]
8. A study reported that up to 81% of patients achieved reductions in weight and HbA1c with semaglutide 1.6 mg for 12 weeks than those with liraglutide 1.2 and 1.8 mg. [45]
9. Several studies showed that both oral and injectable semaglutide demonstrated greater efficacy than liraglutide in reducing body weight and blood sugar levels. [43-57]

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