The weight-loss medicine Zepbound provides more health benefits than dropping pounds and controlling diabetes, a new study shows.
It also appears to help people with obesity manage their high blood pressure, results show. Patients taking Zepbound (tirzepatide) experienced a significant reduction in their systolic blood pressure, the top number in a blood pressure reading, according to a study published Feb. 5 in the journal Hypertension. Systolic blood pressure is a stronger predictor of heart-related death than the diastolic bottom number, researchers said in background notes.
“The blood pressure reduction in our patients in this study was impressive, even though tirzepatide has been studied as a weight-loss medication,” lead researcher Dr. James de Lemos, chair of cardiology at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, stated. Tirzepatide functions by imitating two hormones that the body secretes after food to increase insulin sensitivity and secretion. The medication aids with blood sugar regulation, hunger suppression, and digestive slowing down. In this investigation, six hundred obese people were randomized to receive injections of tirzepatide at different dosages or a placebo.
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After 36 weeks, results showed that:
- Participants taking 5 mg of tirzepatide had an average systolic blood pressure reduction of 7.4 mm Hg
- People taking 10 mg had an average systolic blood pressure reduction of 10.6 mm Hg
- Participants taking 15 mg had an average systolic blood pressure reduction of 8 mm Hg
“While it is not known if the impact on blood pressure was due to the medication or the participants’ weight loss, the lower blood pressure measures seen with tirzepatide rivaled what is seen for many hypertension medications,” de Lemos said in a journal news release. The blood-pressure-lowering effects of tirzepatide showed up in blood pressure measures taken both during the day and at night, researchers said. Nighttime systolic blood pressure is a stronger predictor of heart-related death than daytime readings.
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Dr. Michael Hall, chair of medicine at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, Mississippi, stated, “Overall, these data are encouraging that novel weight-loss medications are effective at reducing body weight and they are also effective at improving many of the cardiometabolic complications of obesity, including hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and dyslipidemia [high cholesterol], among others.” Hall, who was not involved in the study, said, “While the impact of each of these beneficial effects is individually important, many of these obesity-related complications act synergistically to increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.” Therefore, methods that lessen the effects of several obesity-related problems may lower the chance of cardiovascular events. More studies are needed to determine Zepbound’s long-term impact on heart attacks, heart failure and other heart-related health issues, Hall added. “Also, studies are needed to investigate what happens to blood pressure when medications like tirzepatide are discontinued—does the blood pressure rebound and go back up, or does it remain lowered?” Hall wondered. The study was funded by Eli Lilly and Co., the manufacturer of tirzepatide.
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How the Body Fights Back
Jastreboff’s research focuses on novel anti-obesity medications, specifically nutrient stimulated hormone therapeutics. She believes that a critical need in the field is to better understand obesity pathophysiology, especially how the body signals to the brain how much fat an individual should carry to store sufficient energy to function optimally; this is called the defended fat mass. “We need to create treatments that re-regulate the defended fat mass so that it is lowered to a place where we’re carrying a more healthy amount of adipose tissue,” she said. “With a better understanding of what leads to the disease of obesity, we can create treatments that target that pathophysiology, not putting the onus incorrectly on our patients and certainly not saying, ‘Well, in order to treat your obesity, you should eat less and move more.’ We need to give our patients treatments that work, treatments like these medications,” she said.
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Jastreboff cites the environment as a cause of obesity, specifically what she and other scientists call the obesogenic environment. “It’s not just the food; it’s not just the fact that we lead fairly sedentary lives,” Jastreboff explained. “It’s the stress; it’s the lack of sleep; it’s the circadian rhythm disruption; it’s things in our obesogenic environment that have led to this elevated defended fat mass on a population level.”
Weight-Loss Medicine
Weight-Loss Medicine
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Disclaimer: The opinions and suggestions expressed in this article are solely those of the individual analysts. These are not the opinions of HNN. For more, please consult with your doctor
