In a double-blind study, semaglutide, a medication that acts like the GLP-1 hormone made by the body after eating, significantly benefited patients who were overweight or obese who had a history of heart disease but no diabetes
However, research showed that GLP-1 was removed from our bloodstream quickly and had a half-life of two minutes as its degraded by an enzyme called DPP4
With hunger lessened, patients may struggle with maintaining a balanced diet
An annual survey from the health policy research organization KFF recently found that half of the remaining state Medicaid programs are considering covering the drugs, but that the high costs are still prohibitive for most despite federal matches and rebate programs with drug manufacturers
Zhan Y, Sun HL, Chen H, Zhang H, Sun J, Zhang Z, et al