Semaglutide improves blood sugar control, weight loss

 Diabetes is a chronic condition that makes it difficult to regulate blood sugar levels. For many people, the condition worsens with time, making it harder to control blood sugar levels. Semaglutide is one example of a GLP-1 receptor agonist that has given patients more control over blood sugar lowering.

New information regarding new, higher-dose formulations of oral semaglutide has been provided by John Buse, MD, PhD, the Verne S. Caviness Distinguished Professor of Medicine in the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, and a global team of researchers. Their research, which was published in The Lancet, discovered that once-daily oral semaglutide administered at doses of 25 mg and 50 mg was more effective than the lowest dose of 14 mg at reducing blood sugar levels and increasing weight reduction.

"Low doses of GLP-1 receptor agonists are really powerful for reducing A1C, or the average glucose in the blood," said Buse, who is also co-director of the NC Translational and Clinical Sciences Institute, adding, "Whereas, the higher doses that are really good for weight reduction. On average, patients lost eight kilograms (17.5 lbs) at 50 milligrams, which is nearly twice as much weight loss that we saw with the lowest dose."

The new study is in line with other studies, which are pushing for the use of oral GLP-1 receptor agonists as a treatment for obesity.

In total, 1,606 participants, who were on average male and 58.2 years of age, participated in the phase three program for regulatory approval.

The participants were randomized into three groups and were asked to take oral semaglutide once a day. Each group took a different dosage of semaglutide, either a 14 mg dosage, a 25 mg dosage, or a 50 mg dosage, for 52 weeks.

Semaglutide also causes weight loss by suppressing appetite. At the end of the 52 weeks, the participants who took 50 mg of oral semaglutide had lost, on average, 17.5 pounds. Those who took 25 mg and 14 mg lost about 14.8 pounds and 10 pounds, respectively.