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Kathy Schwartz was 10 years free from alcohol, cigarettes and opiates however day by day it was painful to regulate her cravings. “They were always in the background,” she says. In June final yr, nevertheless, this noise fell silent.
Prescribed the weight-loss drug semaglutide, she not solely misplaced almost 30 kilograms over 10 months, but additionally her need to achieve for a drink or take some drugs. “I do not crave, which I didn’t think would be a side effect,” says Schwartz. Remarkably, the despair and nervousness that will beforehand come over her in waves additionally calmed down.
Schwartz isn’t alone on this expertise. New analysis is revealing the stunning mind and psychological well being advantages of semaglutide medicine reminiscent of Ozempic and Wegovy, and different associated diabetes and weight-loss medicine that mimic a intestine hormone launched after consuming.
It’s early days, however there are hints that these medicine may very well be repurposed to deal with despair, nervousness, habit and even sure consuming problems – in addition to neurological circumstances reminiscent of Parkinson’s illness and Alzheimer’s. What’s extra, evidently these results aren’t simply mediated through weight reduction, however by means of direct motion on the mind.
The story of medication like Ozempic begins again within the Nineteen Seventies and Eighties when researchers found {that a} intestine hormone referred to as glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) might stimulate insulin manufacturing when injected into rodents within the lab. Extra surprisingly, these animals began consuming much less and shedding weight. We now know that the hormone results in an elevated feeling of fullness.
Semaglutide and extra
Immediately, medicine that mimic…
