Study shows diabetes drug Ozempic also has positive effect in chronic kidney disease
The diabetes drug semaglutide, also known as Ozempic, has a positive effect on patients with chronic kidney disease and obesity. The amount of protein in their urine decreased, as did the degree of inflammation of their kidneys and their blood pressure.
This was shown in an international study led by clinical pharmacologist Hiddo L. Heerspink of the University Medical Center Groningen in the Netherlands. This is the first time that it has been shown that this diabetes drug, now best known as a means of losing weight, is also effective for patients with chronic kidney damage.
The results of this study have been published in Nature Medicine and presented simultaneously at the annual congress of the American Society of Nephrology.
Hiddo L. Heerspink got the idea for this study at the beginning of the corona pandemic. Earlier, he had discovered that another class of drugs against type 2 diabetes, the so-called SGLT2 inhibitors, also appeared to work well for patients with chronic kidney damage without diabetes. He therefore wanted to investigate whether semaglutide would also work positively for patients with chronic kidney disease and obesity.
The first participants started this study in the second half of 2022. At that time, it had become increasingly known that semaglutide caused weight loss. As a result, getting participants excited about this study was no problem at all. A lot of patients wanted the drug but could no longer get it because production could not keep up with demand. This study gave them a 50% chance of getting the drug though.
The study was conducted in four countries: Canada, Germany, Spain and the Netherlands. Half of the 101 participants received 24-week injections of semaglutide, while the other half received a placebo. The study found that the amount of protein in urine, an outcome measure indicating the degree of kidney damage, was reduced by as much as 52%.
Furthermore, the degree of kidney inflammation was found to decrease by 30%, the participants' blood pressure drop was as large as a blood pressure-lowering drug gives, and in them, a key measure of heart failure was reduced by 33%. Participants also lost about 10% of their weight.
The class of drugs that Ozempic falls under is designed to treat type 2 diabetes. The drug affects the intestinal hormone GLP-1 which is responsible for proper processing of carbohydrates from food. This is, in part, by stimulating insulin release by the pancreas. In addition, GLP-1 reduces the feeling of hunger and causes food to move more slowly from the stomach to the intestines. It gives a feeling of fullness for longer, leading to weight loss. These effects improve glucose control and weight loss.
