From TIME · Alice Park · · 2m
Weight-loss drugs show promise for sleep apnea and arthritis
Eli Lilly reports that GLP-1 drugs reduce sleep apnea episodes and ease knee arthritis pain in new studies.
In brief
Eli Lilly reports that GLP-1 drugs reduce sleep apnea episodes and ease knee arthritis pain in new studies. Eli Lilly's GLP-1 drugs reduced sleep apnea episodes by 44 percent and knee arthritis pain by 50 percent in studies, suggesting benefits beyond weight loss. Originally reported by TIME.
GLP-1 drugs show new benefits
Eli Lilly reported at the American Heart Association annual meeting in November that its GLP-1 drugs help reduce obstructive sleep apnea episodes and ease osteoarthritis pain in the knee.
What sleep apnea does to the body
In sleep apnea, people stop breathing for brief periods, depriving the body and brain of oxygen.
Weight and sleep apnea are linked
Weight is one of the strongest risk factors for sleep apnea. Excess weight can restrict airways around the neck, throat, and chest, so losing weight can reduce the number of sleep apnea episodes.
Foundayo's sleep apnea results
In studies of more than seven hundred people with moderate to severe sleep apnea, those taking Foundayo lost an average of twenty eight pounds and had about forty four percent fewer overnight apnea events over…
Foundayo pill offers convenience
Foundayo is a pill, unlike Lilly's other GLP-1 medications Mounjaro and Zepbound, which require weekly injections.
Retatrutide eases knee arthritis pain
In studies of more than one thousand people with osteoarthritis in the knee, those receiving the injectable drug retatrutide weekly lost about twenty five percent of their body weight, and two thirds reported a fifty…
How weight loss reduces arthritis pain
Excess weight places a heavier load on joints and can lead to wearing and pain.Fat cells also produce inflammatory factors that cause joint pain.Dr.
“the mechanism of what causes the pain is poorly understood”
Lilly explores broader pain relief
Lilly is studying retatrutide for chronic low back pain and Foundayo for more generalized pain not related to weight.Ken Custer says GLP-1 drugs may have anti-inflammatory effects and impacts on neuronal function beyond weight loss.
What to remember
Eli Lilly's GLP-1 drugs reduced sleep apnea episodes by 44 percent and knee arthritis pain by 50 percent in studies, suggesting benefits beyond weight loss.
