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Weighting the effectiveness of GLP-1 drugs
A meta-analysis of the weight loss effectiveness of GLP-1 drugs found that tirzepatide (marketed as Zepbound for weight loss) and Mounjaro (marketed for treatment of Type 2 diabetes) helped patients lose more than 20% of their starting body weight
Semaglutide (marketed as Wegovy) and liraglutide (Saxenda) also caused weight loss, but it was less at 15% and 8%, respectively. Ozempic (also semaglutide) was not part of the analysis
The review is the first to compare efficacy of the four FDA-approved GLP-1 medications in nondiabetic patients using the drugs for weight loss
Roughly one in every eight Americans is currently taking a GLP-1, according to a recent poll from KFF, formerly known as the Kaiser Family Foundation. Approximately one in five have taken the medication in the past
While GLP-1 medications are generally considered safe, there are established risks: severe gastrointestinal issues, pancreas/kidney complications, muscle/bone density loss and gallbladder disease. Many patients regain some or much of lost weight after discontinuing therapy. Longer-term effects remain unknown
Body of knowledge
By age 60, 60% of men and 40% of women snore. The average snore hovers around 60 decibels — about the level of normal speech — but can exceed 80. That’s roughly equivalent to the sound of a pneumatic drill breaking concrete. Noise levels above 85 decibels are considered hazardous to the human ear.
Stories for the waiting room
Consuming between 10 and 20 grams of caffeine can kill a person, but you’d have to drink roughly 4.69 gallons of coffee to get there
Doc talk
Ptosis — drooping of the eyelid
Mania of the week
Onomatomania — an irresistible desire to repeat certain words or an irresistible desire to repeat certain words
Never say diet
The Major League Eating speed-eating record for hands-free blueberry pie consumption is 9.17 pounds in 8 minutes, held by Patrick Bertoletti. It is not known how many of those pounds remained on Bertoletti’s face
Best medicine
Patient: “Doctor, I’m very worried. I’m still suffering from exhaustion and fatigue when I come home from work at night.”
Doctor: “Not to worry. Try a small mixed drink as a stimulant. That will soon wake you up.”
Patient: “But doctor, last week when I saw you for this problem you told me to cut out all drinking completely.”
Doctor: “Yes, I did. But that was last week. Medical science has progressed enormously since then.”
Hypochondriac’s guide
Retired husband syndrome is a psychosomatic, stress-induced condition that afflicts women, specifically older women whose recently retired husbands are now annoyingly underfoot at home. It can actually result in physical ailments, such as stomach ulcers and rashes
Observation
“He that lives upon Hope dies farting.”
— American statesman, inventor and all-around wise guy Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) in “Poor Richard’s Almanac” (1736 edition)
Medical history
This week in 1961, the American Medical Association backed the Sabin polio vaccine over the Salk vaccine. In 1957, in an effort to improve upon the Salk vaccine, which contained the killed virus, Albert Sabin began testing a live, oral form of vaccine in which the infectious part of the virus was inactivated
This vaccine entered widespread use in the early 1960s. The Sabin oral vaccine is often administered on a sugar cube. The advantages of a live, oral vaccine are its long-lasting immunity, and the lower cost because sterile syringes and needles are not necessary
A disadvantage is that it cannot be used for patients with compromised immune systems because the live virus can cause disease in these patients
Perishable publications
Many, if not most, published research papers have titles that defy comprehension. They use specialized jargon, complex words and opaque phrases like “nonlinear dynamics.” Sometimes they don’t, and yet they’re still hard to figure out. Here’s an actual title of actual published research study: “Will humans swim faster or slower in syrup?”
University of Minnesota researchers published their answer in a 2004 issue of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, reporting that, in fact, swimmers move at about the same speed
The scientists filled a 25-meter pool with a mix of water and more than 600 pounds of guar gum, an edible thickening agent used in ice cream, salad dressings and shampoo. The result was about twice as thick as water, but the scientists found that swimming times in regular water versus goop varied no more than 4 percent
Maybe the goopy swimmers were extra-motivated to get in and out quickly. The goop, said scientists, “looked a lot like snot.”
Med school
Q: Which part of the human body prevents food from entering the respiratory tract?
1) Vocal cords
2) Pharynx
3) Epiglottis
4) Mandible
A: The epiglottis, at the upper part of the larynx, is a flaplike projection into the throat that prevents food from entering the respiratory tract. As food is swallowed, the whole larynx structure rises to the epiglottis so that the passageway to the respiratory tract is blocked
Epitaphs
On a tombstone in a Vermont cemetery:
“Sacred to the memory of
my husband John Barnes
who died January 3, 1803
His comely young widow, aged 23, has
many qualifications of a good wife, and
yearns to be comforted.”
LaFee is vice president of communications for the Sanford Burnham Prebys research institute
