Patients who undergo the minimally invasive endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty (ESG) can increase their weight loss by taking the diabetes drug semaglutide, according to study results presented at Digestive Disease Week. 

The study included 61 patients, with 29 starting semaglutide one month after surgery. Another 29 patients received a placebo which was administered with similar-looking pens.  

Patients were monitored monthly for body weight and body composition, with blood panels taken every three months. Three patients withdrew before follow-up.  

A release on the study noted that patients taking semaglutide lost an average of 26.7% of their total body weight compared to the control group, which lost an average of 19.6%.  

Patients in the drug arm lost 86.3% of their excess weight, which was the amount needed to reach normal body mass index, compared to 60.4% in the control group.  

Patients prescribed semaglutide also lost 12.7% of their body fat by weight compared to 9% in the placebo arm.  

HB1Ac levels fell 0.95 for patients in the drug arm, compared to 0.61 for patients receiving placebo.  

“ESG has been available for years, but it has not always been as successful as surgical options in helping patients lose weight. We now have a minimally invasive procedure that can be just as successful when combined with semaglutide and can be made available to even more people looking to lose a significant amount of weight,” lead researcher Anna Carolina Hoff, MD, of Angioskope Brazil, said in the release.  

The release noted that the long-term durability of the treatment still needs confirmation. 

 
References: 
https://ddw.org/2021/05/14/pairing-bariatric-procedure-with-diabetes-drug-increases-weight-loss/ 

Semaglutide in association to endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty: Taking endoscopic bariatric procedures outcomes to the next level. Digestive Disease Week 2021. Abstract No. Su548 

Images: Getty Images, Pixabay 
Disclosures: MD /alert could not confirm financial disclosures at the time of reporting. 


By Adam Hochron