An Aberdeen scientist is leading a team working to combat the “unpleasant” side effects associated with weight-loss injections.
The so-called “slimming jabs” have become a popular topic since the use of semaglutide was approved by Scottish health authorities in late 2023.
The active ingredient in these injections, including Wegovy and Ozempic, acts in the brain to reduce food intake.
However, about four in 10 patients have reported suffering from nausea and vomiting – with some forced to come off the medicine due to the side effects.
A research team at Aberdeen University’s Rowett Institute, and University College London, are now starting work to help bypass these side effects which will allow more people to complete the course of treatment.
Research into weight-loss jabs in Aberdeen
The £1.2 million project, funded by the Medical Research Council, is being led by Aberdeen-based Professor Lora Heisler and Professor Stefan Trapp from UCL.
Professor Heisler said: “There is huge interest in how the brain targets of semaglutide (Wegovy) and similar drugs such as tirzepatide (Mounjaro) could be switched on in a slightly different or more targeted way.
“Drugs that can do this could work better, have effects that last longer and produce specific therapeutic obesity treatment benefits without the nausea side effect.
“This research could also lead to new drugs that are produced as pills instead of injectables, thereby reducing costs and increasing availability.
“We can only now do these types of studies because of the latest technological advances. We expect our results will provide the blueprint to develop even better obesity medications in the future.”
Work could lead to medicine being produced as pills
The Rowett Institute team recently identified a cluster of brain cells that can be harnessed to reduce food take and body weight.
Over the next three years, they will look further at semaglutide to discover how it influences meal size, healthier food choices, delaying digestion and “dampening the feel-good food effect” – as well as how it produces nausea and vomiting.
The aim is to “fill large gaps” in the current understanding of how the drug works and, therefore, making it more accessible and affordable.
This could also lead to the medicine being produced as pills instead of jabs.
Professor Trapp added: “While semaglutide and similar drugs have been very effective in helping people with diabetes and show much promise in helping people to lose weight, we still do not know that much about how exactly they work in the brain.
“My lab has done extensive research for years into the glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GLP-1R) in the brain, which semaglutide targets, so we hope by mapping out the drug’s mechanism more precisely, we will be able to develop more effective drugs with fewer side effects.”
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