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The medical world has made another potential breakthrough in the realm of 'skinny jabs', with a 4-in-1 weight-loss injection said to combine the best bits of Ozempic and Mounjaro.
Everyone from Elon Musk to Oprah Winfrey has championed semaglutide injections, while the jury is still out on the pros and cons. Alway fears of potential eye issues and a possible mental health crisis, others claim these jabs could help reverse liver disease and even reduce biological aging.
While it's important to note that semaglutide injections are supposed to be used to tackle diabetes, they've soared in popularity thanks to their weight loss effects.
Even President Donald Trump has vowed to make Ozempic cheaper, whereas those in the United Kingdom are facing massive price hikes when it comes to Mounjaro.
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Science Daily reports on how a team at Tufts University in Massachusetts is confident they've discovered a 'quadruple-action' drug that can target four hormone receptors.
More than this, they think it could result in weight loss of 30%, meaning it would be on a par with the typical results of bariatric surgery, like a gastric band, sleeve gastrectomy, and a gastric bypass.
Weight loss jobs target the body's GLP-1 receptors that tell you when you're full. Wegovy is known for this, whereas Ozempic is specifically prescribed to tackle type 2 diabetes.
As for Mounjaro, it aims for both the GLP-1 and GIP receptors to make you feel full.
Pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly is close to launching a drug called Retatrutide, sometimes known as 'Triple G', as it also targets glucagon that increases blood glucose and increases energy.
That's not enough for the latest drug in development. Going for the full house, it wants to take on the YY peptide and hopefully avoid bariatric surgery.
Study lead author Tristan Dinsmore explains how targeting peptide YY could potentially burn off fat directly instead of just suppressing your appetite.
Hyping the development of the new drug, Dinsmore explained: "There is one more hormone we wanted to bring in to complete a weight control quartet. It's called peptide YY.
“This molecule is also secreted by the gut after we eat a meal, and its job is to reduce appetite and slow the process of emptying food from the stomach, but via different mechanisms than either GLP-1 or GIP.
"It may also be involved in directly 'burning off' fat."
The research was led by chemist Krishna Kumar, who said the other issue is tackling how most people give up on their GLP-1 injections after a month: "The biggest problem with GLP-1 drugs is that they have to be injected once a week, and they can induce a very strong feeling of nausea.
"As much as 40% of people using these drugs give up after the first month."
Still, weight loss drugs, including Ozempic and Wegovy, are apparently used by over 15 million adults in the USA. This equates to 4.5% of the population, and it's a number on the rise.
If the Tufts team can hit all four, it could be the next big thing in the ever-growing weight-loss industry.
