‘King Kong’ of weight loss jabs could help ‘cure’ snoring by targeting killer underlying condition
FAT-BLASTING jab Mounjaro – dubbed the ‘King Kong’ of weight loss drugs – could help treat sleep apnoea in obese adults, its maker has claimed.
The sleep disorder can stop and start sufferers’ breathing as they slumber, causing them to gasp, snore and wake up spluttering during the night.
The most common type is called obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). It occurs when people’s airway becomes blocked.
Being obese can increase a person’s risk of OAP, as it can narrow the airway.
Over time, sleep apnoea can lead other health issues like high blood pressure, heart disease and type 2 diabetes, as well as a greater chance of having a stroke.
After conducting two studies on adults with obesity and moderate to severe OAP, drug maker Eli Lilly claims its fat jab Mounjaro could reduce the number of times people stopped breathing in their sleep.
Dr Jeff Emmick, Lilly’s senior vice president for product development, said: “Tirzepatide has the potential to be the first pharmaceutical treatment for the underlying disease.”
The findings were announced via press release and have yet to be reviewed by other scientists or be published in a journal.
Eli Lilly said it would present them at the American Diabetes Association’s 84th Scientific Sessions in June.
Containing the active ingredient tirzepatide, Mounjaro has been approved in the UK for diabetes and weight loss.
Studies have shown the drug helps patients lose 5kg more than semaglutide, the active ingredient in weight loss jab Wegovy and diabetes drug Ozempic.
Eli Lilly researchers looked at whether Mounjaro worked better than a placebo in reducing how many times per hour, on average, a person stopped breathing as they slept.
The first of two studies involved participants who didn’t use a CPAP machine to help them sleep. This is a machine that gently pumps air into a mask you wear over your nose or mouth, which can help improve your breathing and kip.
After 52 weeks, those given 10-15 mg injections of Mounjaro on average experienced 27.4 fewer breathing events per hour, amounting to a 55 per cent reduction.
By contrast, participants taking a placebo medication only had 4.8 fewer events, a 5 per cent reduction.
Those taking the weight loss drug also shed about 18 per cent of their body weight, which Lilly could have contributed to the reduction in sleep apnoea events.
Eli Lilly’s second study again followed participants for a year, this time looking at people who used CPAP machines to help them sleep.
Mounjaro-takers experienced an average reduction of 30.4 events per hour (62.8 per cent), compared to an average reduction of 6 events per hour for the placebo group (6.4 per cent).
Again, participants taking Mounjaro shed around 20 per cent of their body weight.
Participants did experience some side effects from the taking the drugs.
For those participating in the first study, the most common ones were diarrhoea, nausea and vomiting, while the second group suffered diarrhoea, nausea and constipation.
A recent report published to the European Journal of Case Reports in Internal Medicine detailed the case of a woman who a lethal toxic blood condition after using Mounjaro for three weeks.
The woman was admitted to an intensive care unit after experiencing stomach pains, sickness and diarrhoea for two days straight, where blood tests was suffering from a potentially fatal condition called ketoacidosis.
The complication is one of the many side effects linked to the GLP-1 weight loss jabs, which have also been connected to 20 deaths in the UK.
The class of drugs, called glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RA), work by mimicking the GLP-1 hormone produced naturally by your gut when you eat food.
Despite fears that they may increase people’s risk of thyroid tumours, recent research said there’s no link between the drugs and thyroid cancer.
What are the symptoms of sleep apneoa?
SLEEP apnoea is when your breathing stops and starts while you sleep.
It needs to be treated because it can lead to more serious problems.
Symptoms of sleep apnoea mainly happen while you sleep.
They include:
- Breathing stopping and starting
- Making gasping, snorting or choking noises
- Waking up a lot
- Loud snoring
During the day, you may also:
- Feel very tired
- Find it hard to concentrate
- Have mood swings
- Have a headache when you wake up
It can be hard to tell if you have sleep apnoea. It may help to ask someone to stay with you while you sleep so they can check for the symptoms, or to record yourself as you snooze.
You should see a GP if you suspect you have it.
According to the NHS, sleep apnoea has been linked to:
- Being obese
- Having a large neck
- Getting older – but children and young adults can also get it
- Smoking and drinking alcohol
- Having large tonsils or adenoids
- Sleeping on your back
- Having other family members with the condition
- A condition called chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
Source: NHS