Semaglutide Slows Biological Aging by 9% in First Randomized Trial
GLP-1 may slow biological aging
In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of 108 adults with HIV-associated lipohypertrophy, weekly semaglutide injections slowed biological aging across multiple epigenetic clocks over 32 weeks. The DunedinPACE clock measured a 9% slower pace of aging, and the PCGrimAge clock showed reduced risk signals for all-cause mortality and age-related disease. A related pilot study found telomere lengthening in nearly half of participants. Researchers stress the drug slows, not reverses, aging.
We are not saying that semaglutide reverses aging or makes people younger. What we are seeing is a signal that it may slow some of the biological processes associated with aging.
- manlymuppet
I'm always confused with these type of posts because I feel the scientists must know something I don't. Why is it always does GLP-1 help with [general health thing]?
If I understand it correctly, GLP-1 drugs help people with weight loss. People are more healthy when they're not overweight, and GLP-1s help people get down to a healthier weight. So when we ask questions about do GLP-1s help this or that, isn't there a giant confounding variable here? That being overweight causes a litany of health issues has been common knowledge forever now. Thus, my (uninformed, intuitive) guess would just be that GLP-1s, which cause weight loss, also include the subsequent effects of healthy weight loss.
So why are we surprised then that people going from overweight to a healthy weight slows aging, or betters cardiovascular health as I've seen elsewhere? Aren't these already well-studied effects of healthy weight loss? Shouldn't these positive effects obviously just be attributed to weight loss, rather than the thing that causes the weight loss? And why are there articles about this stuff acting like this is unexpected?
I admit I'm a laymen and I hope don't sound too snide or critical here. I'm just kind of puzzled by this out of genuine curiosity.
- y-c-o-m-b
I'm excited to see more studies done in this context, but without the HIV association. My wife has Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and Rheumatoid Arthritis. She saw more benefits in inflammation reduction than weight reduction, especially those first two weeks she started taking it. She says her pain levels are night and day difference when on GLP-1 vs off. To me it would then make logical sense that reduced inflammation can have a measurably positive effect on aging.
- froobius
Isn't being "underweight" generally shown to reduce the speed of aging
- GenerWork
>They also reduce visceral and ectopic fat that accumulates around the abdomen and organs, which may help curb the inflammatory and metabolic signals that promote aging.
Interesting, I wonder if someone will do a study where they pair a GLP-1 with tesamorelin to see if there's any synergy there in terms of fat reduction and reduced aging.
- andsoitis
> slows down the accumulation of biological aging markers in the DNA of adults with HIV
And if you don’t have HIV?
- cabarltos
This feels like the early days of medical marijuana where everything was sunshine and rainbows, and then 10 years later we realize yes, there are still drawbacks.
- Murfalo
Let's play spot the conflict of interest. Three of seven authors tied to a company selling biological aging tests. One consults for Merck, GSK, etc.
There seems some promise at times but I also struggle to see the recent slew of "GLP-1s cure X", where X is seemingly any ailment known to man, as much more than the next Big Pharma gold rush where the profits dwarf any eventual regulatory fines, and taxpayers and real patients are left with the costs.
- howunfortunate
> randomized, placebo-controlled clinical evidence
:)
> data from a...clinical trial of 108 adults with HIV associated lipohypertrophy
:(