More treatment for obesity

These are adult data but worthwhile reading. Tirzepatide, which is used in type two diabetes and is an insulinotropic polypeptide and glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist has not been examined in obese adults without diabetes. It is a once-a-week subcutaneous delivered medication. Jastreboff AM et al [N Engl J Med 2022; 387:205–216 DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa2206038] have completed a phase three double-blind, randomised, controlled trial in 2539 adults with a body-mass index of 30 or more, or 27 or more and at least one weight-related complication, excluding diabetes over 72 weeks. They have looked at three doses of tirzepatide or placebo, all given healthy lifestyle advice. The mean body weight was 104.8 kg at the beginning of the study (the mean BMI was 38.0, and 94.5% of participants had a BMI of 30 or higher). At 72 weeks there was significant change in weight for all the doses compared with placebo, which was only 3.1% loss [−3.1% (95% CI, −4.3 to −1.9]. There was over 20% wt loss in the higher dose of tirzepatide. Mild to moderate gastrointestinal symptoms, were encountered in the dose escalation period. This once weekly intervention provided substantial and sustained reductions in body weight. When will it step into the paediatric world? What …