Common weight-loss drug successfully targets fat that can endanger heart health: Newsroom

DALLAS – Aug 4, 2021 – Researchers at UT Southwestern announced the successful results of a clinical trial for a commonly prescribed weight loss drug called liraglutide. In adults with overweight or obesity combined with high cardiovascular risk, once-daily use of liraglutide in combination with lifestyle interventions significantly lowered two types of fat that have been associated with cardiovascular risk: visceral fat and ectopic fat.

Parag Joshi, MD, Preventive Cardiologist

“Our study used the latest imaging technology to assess different components of fat in the body. The main result was a significant decrease in visceral fat in patients without diabetes but who were overweight or obese. These results demonstrate the potential of liraglutide treatment to significantly reduce the risk of chronic disease in this population, ”said Parag Joshi, MD, preventive cardiologist, assistant professor of cardiology and lead author of the study published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology.

Visceral fat is stored in the abdominal cavity around important internal organs such as the liver, pancreas, and intestines. Ectopic fat is stored in tissues that usually contain small amounts of fat, such as the liver, skeletal muscle, heart, and pancreas.

The 185 study participants received one injection of liraglutide once daily for 40 weeks of treatment. The relative effects of liraglutide on fat reduction were two-fold in abdominal tissue and six-fold greater in liver than that of total body weight. The treatment effect was consistent across all categories of race / ethnicity and BMI, as well as those with or without prediabetes at baseline. Liraglutide also reduced fasting blood sugar and inflammation in this non-diabetic study population, most of whom had normal blood sugar levels at baseline.

In a 2016 study led by UTSW researchers called the Leader Study, the rate of first-time deaths from cardiovascular causes, non-fatal myocardial infarction, or non-fatal stroke in patients with type 2 diabetes was found among patients treated with liraglutide, lower than placebo. “Our results help add a possible mechanism for why liraglutide has an advantage on cardiovascular outcomes while demonstrating its benefit in people without diabetes,” said Dr. Joshi.

According to the researchers, obesity affects an estimated 1 in 4 adults and 1 in 5 adolescents, leading to a significant risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality. “Excess visceral fat and ectopic fat (e.g. liver) are central to the development of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease,” said Dr. Joshi. “It remains a challenge to identify those at highest risk to offer them treatment in addition to lifestyle changes such as diet and exercise.”

The study was funded by an investigator-initiated grant from Novo Nordisk.

Other UT Southwestern researchers who contributed to the study include Colby R. Ayers, Bienka Lewis, Robert Oslica, Susan Rodder, and Ambarish Pandey.

UT Southwestern ranks 11th nationwide in cardiology and cardiac surgery and 24th in diabetes and endocrinology in the US News & World Report’s 2021-22 survey of the best hospitals for 2021-22.

Via the UT Southwestern Medical Center

UT Southwestern, one of the leading academic medical centers in the country, combines groundbreaking biomedical research with exceptional clinical care and education. The institution’s faculty has won six Nobel Prizes and includes 25 members from the National Academy of Sciences, 16 members from the National Academy of Medicine, and 13 Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigators. The full-time faculty, with more than 2,800 employees, is responsible for breakthrough medical advances and is committed to quickly translating science-based research into new clinical treatments. UT Southwestern doctors care for more than 117,000 hospital patients, more than 360,000 emergency rooms in approximately 80 specialties, and oversee nearly 3 million outpatient visits per year.

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