Living in space has significant effects on the human body. As we prepare for journeys to more distant destinations like Mars, humankind must tackle these risks to ensure safe travel for our astronauts.
Tag Archives: type 2 diabetes
Truths And Concerns- The Miracle Drug Ozempic
Ozempic: A Microcosm That Can Teach Us a Lot about Canadian Healthcare Markets Ozempic (and other GLP-1 medications) have been having their moment.
Headlines hail a “miracle drug” for weight loss , others say that’s too good to be true, and there’s even a South Park episode titled “the end of obesity.” It’s all new territory for medications for type-2 diabetes and weight loss treatment.
And all the media attention gives us a teaching moment to help illuminate the behind-the-scenes dynamics that affect international pharmaceutical markets, insurance companies, public healthcare systems and government finances.
This article summarizes the various issues that have been in the spotlight and additional posts linked in the supplemental section at the end of this article will go further behind the curtain, using Ozempic as an example, to explain the interconnected and complex economic factors and government machinery that play roles in determining the supply, demand and accessibility of pharmaceutical treatments and products, as well as broader economic responses.
First, some background.
GLP-1 receptor agonists (like Ozempic) have been used for more than 16 years to treat type 2 diabetes and for weight loss for the past nine years. Ozempic is Novo Nordisk’s brand name for a semaglutide marketed and sold for treating type 2 diabetes. Other medications in the same class include Trulicity (dulaglutide, GLP-1) and Mounjaro (tirzepatide, a dual GLP-1/GIP).
While Ozempic is heavily associated with weight loss in the media, it is NOT approved by the FDA or Health Canada as a weight-loss drug.
From the globex press release: “GlobexPharma® is thrilled to announce the launch of Ozempic Chewable Gummies for Kids®, a groundbreaking prescription treatment designed to combat obesity in children aged 1 to 5 years.”
Health Canada approved it in 2018 for adult patients with type 2 diabetes, noting that there was limited information on safety and efficacy for minors or people over age 75. The FDA has authorized it for similar purposes and also includes reducing the risk of heart attacks and strokes in type 2 diabetes patients with known heart disease.
Wegovy, a similar injectable medication containing higher amounts of semaglutide and made by the same company, is approved for weight loss in obese patients by the FDA and recently entered the Canadian market (it was approved in 2021, but only became available to consumers in May 2024). Saxenda (liraglutide, GLP1), is approved for weight management in obese pediatric patients over 12 years of age in Canada.
The class of medications is not new, their effectiveness for weight loss in non-obese patients, as well as their potential to improve fertility, reduce cardiac risks, and reduce the risk of kidney failure have all increased the attention and discussion of this class of medications.
Their growing weight-loss popularity has disrupted the market, and provides an opportunity to investigate many interrelated market dynamics including:
- The incentives and potential for pharmaceutical companies to expand markets for existing products by finding new applications for them.
- Similarly, off-label prescribing by physicians can provide patients access to treatments, even if a full-scale clinical trial has not been conducted.
- Market expansion through new indications and off-label prescribing can create surges in demand that increase financial risks for public and private drug insurance plans.
- Similarly, rapidly increasing demand increases the risk of drug shortages, at least until manufacturing capacity can expand to meet the new market demand.
- Both shortages and financial risk for insurance companies can lead to restricting coverage and rationing supplies to prioritize particular patient groups.
The healthcare market and broader economy respond to these dynamics in sometimes unexpected or potentially counterproductive ways. For example, counterfeit or black market versions of the regulated medications, a proliferation of virtual services advertising directly to consumers that they can provide access, and patients failing to complete treatment due to costs or shortages.
There is evidence of wider economic responses as well.
For example, Nestlé is launching a new line of frozen pizzas and pastas enriched with protein, iron, and calcium designed for people taking appetite suppressing drugs.
That’s our landscape. For The Silo, Rosalie Wyonch.
Supplemental
How Cardiovascular Disease Connects To Inflammation
I bet we all have someone near and dear to our heart, who has been touched by cardiovascular disease.
Public health and agencies such as Heart and Stroke Society have done an excellent job highlighting some of the key factors that are risk factors to cardiovascular disease. These risk factors can include hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol, obesity, alcohol, smoking, and stress.
An overarching factor that exists within all of these risk factors is; inflammation.
Inflammation can be defined as “the body’s attempt at self-protection; the aim being to remove harmful stimuli, including damaged cells, irritants, or pathogens – and begin the healing process.” The symptoms of inflammation are represented as heat, redness, swelling and pain.
There have been links made between chronic inflammation and some cancers, rheumatoid arthritis, atherosclerosis, periodontitis and hay fever.
One of the key modifiable factors affecting inflammation that has been researched is diet. Meals that are contain excess calories and inflammatory fats have been linked to causing spikes in c-reactive protein, a measureable maker of inflammation. The Standard American Diet has been linked to higher inflammation rates due to the higher intake of omega 6 fatty acids compared to omega 3. In contrast the Mediterranean Diet has been linked to lower inflammation levels due to higher content of omega 3 fatty acids, low glycemic foods, higher amounts of carotenoids and flavonoids found abundantly in fruits and vegetables.
Excess body fat is also a component of inflammation as it a factory for inflammatory cytokines within the body, resulting in higher levels of inflammation. A study of postmenopausal women who where overweight or obese who lost 5% or more of their body weight had measurable decreases to their inflammation levels.
Type 2 diabetes, the result of insulin resistance also has its roots deep in inflammation. Again research has shown that more fat cells in the body result in a cascade of cellular signalling within the immune cells that results in inflammation.
In the case of acute inflammation such a healing cut finger, physical symptoms would be typical; heat, swelling, redness and pain. Chronic inflammation does not display these same symptoms, instead havoc on the cardiovascular system can go undetected. The process of atherosclerosis, the origin of cardiovascular disease is a result of the activation of the immune system during inflammation leading deposition and accumulation of cholesterol and tissue along the cardiovascular system.
From a preventative health standpoint it is important to combine the current treatment of cardiovascular health treatment with strategies to reduce inflammation.
Naturopathic Medicine as a preventative form of treatment has many options available to decrease overall inflammation within the body and can be used alongside conventional medical treatments. For the Silo, Ashley Beeton.