Tens of millions of people around the world are now taking drugs like Ozempic — a kind of real-time experiment that offers far more data than a carefully controlled clinical trial can.
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Here’s what we’ve learned in the process.
They can treat much more than just diabetes or obesity.
… [S]ome of them have now been approved to reduce the risk of heart attacks and other cardiovascular issues and to treat sleep apnea, severe liver disease and kidney disease.
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You regain weight if you stop taking them — but not necessarily all of it.
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They don’t work equally well for everyone.
We now know that about one in 10 people on the drugs are what scientists call “non-responders” who lose less than 5 percent of their body weight.
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They can have unexpected downsides. …
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The “right dose” is up for debate.
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They affect more than just your body.
… The idea that the drugs might diminish pleasure, or even joy, in some patients has shown up ….
