pharmaceutical
Scary Charts – 08.13.23 (and yet another Dark Side of Tik Tok)
APC indicates annual percentage change. This study of alcohol-related mortality in the US suggests there has been a significantly higher rate of increase in deaths among female individuals in recent years.
Trends in Alcohol-Related Deaths by Sex in the US, 1999-2020 — http://10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.26346
In March 2023, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported an unprecedented spike in stimulant prescriptions between 2020 and 2021. Perhaps most surprising was that the demographic showing the greatest increases in stimulant use – an increase of almost 20% in one year – were in women in their 20s and 30s…
But while the internet exploded with ADHD content, researchers in Canada began sorting #ADHD TikTok videos into categories based on their accuracy and helpfulness. They reported something important: A majority of #ADHD content was misleading. Only 21% of the posts provided useful and accurate information.
More adults than ever have been seeking ADHD medications – an ADHD expert explains what could be driving the trend — https://theconversation.com/more-adults-than-ever-have-been-seeking-adhd-medications-an-adhd-expert-explains-what-could-be-driving-the-trend-206052
Alcohol AND amphetamines. Self-diagnosed ADHD. SMH.
New Wonder Drug! Treat Diabetes, Obesity AND Addiction – (yup another GLP-1 receptor agonist post)
Previous research has found that activating GLP-1 receptors in rats’ brain causes the animals to eat less of a high-sugar chow, which they would normally prefer over a less delicious but healthier bland meal when given the option. This suggests that GLP-1 makes unhealthy food less rewarding. Schmidt’s team found the same to be true with cocaine: rats that received a GLP-1 agonist took less cocaine when it was offered. The researchers are now repeating the experiments in rats addicted to opioids or fentanyl. Several other studies have shown that GLP-1 agonists cause rats to drink less alcohol and produce less dopamine when they do drink, suggesting that the activity is no longer as pleasurable.
…it’s too early to say whether people recovering from addiction would need to take an GLP-1 agonist for the rest of their lives, like people with diabetes do, or whether these drugs could be short-term treatments that curb cravings long enough for people to make lifestyle changes to stay sober. People who stop taking semaglutide for weight loss quickly gain the weight back, and study animals that stop taking it return to alcohol and drug use, but “I don’t think we know enough yet” in humans, Simmons says.
Could New Weight-Loss Drugs like Ozempic Treat Addiction? — https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/could-new-weight-loss-drugs-like-ozempic-treat-addiction1/
The rest of this post is a repost of April Fools 2023 (this is a GLP-1 receptor agonist post). Enjoy!
Ozempic and a similar drug, Wegovy, are weekly shots you give yourself that cause the body to produce insulin. Insulin lowers blood sugar, slows digestion and makes people feel full. Carter-Williams tried it and was amazed.
“You are not hungry,” she says. “Like, I actually have to set timers to make sure that I do eat, because otherwise you actually forget to eat.”
‘You forget to eat’: How Ozempic went from diabetes medicine to blockbuster diet drug https://www.npr.org/2023/04/01/1166781510/ozempic-weight-loss-drug-big-business
Everyone wants the easy way out. I sometimes forget to eat but not because of a miracle drug. You wonder if those of us wanting to lose weight know you can’t stop taking this drug once you start it.
Patients discontinuing the use of weight-loss drugs such as Wegovy risk regaining their original body weight in about five years, a Novo Nordisk official said on Wednesday.
Novo Nordisk Says Stopping Obesity Drug May Cause Full Weight Regain in 5 Years–https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/990267?src=rss
Side effects?
Just a few https://www.wegovy.com/taking-wegovy/side-effects.html
- Possible thyroid tumors, including cancer.
- Inflammation of your pancreas (pancreatitis)
- Gallbladder problems
- Increased risk of low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) in patients with type 2 diabetes, especially those who also take medicines for type 2 diabetes such as sulfonylureas or insulin
- Kidney problems (kidney failure)
- Serious allergic reactions
- Change in vision in people with type 2 diabetes.
- Increased heart rate
- Depression or thoughts of suicide.
So if you want to lose weight by taking a GLP-1 receptor agonist remember the risks of side effects including the real possibility of having to take a drug that costs up to $1600.00 a month for the rest of your life.
Good luck with that.
As an FYI this drug class is being investigated by the EU for a small number of cases reporting suicidal ideation https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2023-07-10/ozempic-weight-loss-drugs-probed-over-reports-of-suicidal-thoughts.
But we already knew this.
Why People Stop Using Drugs Like Ozempic – Wired (yet another GLP-1 receptor agonist post)
One study looked at GLP-1 RAs prescribed in the UK between 2009 and 2017. Out of the 589 patients who started taking a GLP-RA, 45 percent stopped taking the drug within 12 months, and 65 percent within 24 months. The same group of scientists also looked at people taking GLP-1 RAs in the US across a similar period of time. That study included a much larger group of diabetes patients but found that people quit taking the drugs at a similar rate as in the UK. Within 12 months, 47 percent of patients stopped taking their GLP-1 AR; after 24 months that figure was 70 percent. On average, people in that study spent around 13 months using the drug before they stopped taking it.
Why People Stop Using Drugs Like Ozempic —https://www.wired.com/story/ozempic-wegovy-quitting-weight-loss/?utm_source=pocket-newtab
For my last GLP-1 RA post see Tirzepatide Reduces Appetite, Energy Intake, and Fat Mass in People With Type 2 Diabetes — https://doi.org/10.2337/dc22-1710
To reduce the number of clicks the rest of this post is a repost of April Fools 2023 (this is a GLP-1 receptor agonist post). Enjoy!
Ozempic and a similar drug, Wegovy, are weekly shots you give yourself that cause the body to produce insulin. Insulin lowers blood sugar, slows digestion and makes people feel full. Carter-Williams tried it and was amazed.
“You are not hungry,” she says. “Like, I actually have to set timers to make sure that I do eat, because otherwise you actually forget to eat.”
‘You forget to eat’: How Ozempic went from diabetes medicine to blockbuster diet drug https://www.npr.org/2023/04/01/1166781510/ozempic-weight-loss-drug-big-business
Everyone wants the easy way out. I sometimes forget to eat but not because of a miracle drug. You wonder if those of us wanting to lose weight know you can’t stop taking this drug once you start it.
Patients discontinuing the use of weight-loss drugs such as Wegovy risk regaining their original body weight in about five years, a Novo Nordisk official said on Wednesday.
Novo Nordisk Says Stopping Obesity Drug May Cause Full Weight Regain in 5 Years–https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/990267?src=rss
Side effects?
Just a few https://www.wegovy.com/taking-wegovy/side-effects.html
- Possible thyroid tumors, including cancer.
- Inflammation of your pancreas (pancreatitis)
- Gallbladder problems
- Increased risk of low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) in patients with type 2 diabetes, especially those who also take medicines for type 2 diabetes such as sulfonylureas or insulin
- Kidney problems (kidney failure)
- Serious allergic reactions
- Change in vision in people with type 2 diabetes.
- Increased heart rate
- Depression or thoughts of suicide.
So if you want to lose weight by taking a GLP-1 receptor agonist remember the risks of side effects including the real possibility of having to take a drug that costs up to $1600.00 a month for the rest of your life.
Good luck with that. This joke’s on you.
As an FYI this drug class is being investigated by the EU for a small number of cases reporting suicidal ideation https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2023-07-10/ozempic-weight-loss-drugs-probed-over-reports-of-suicidal-thoughts.
But we already knew this.
What the Scientists Who Pioneered Weight-Loss Drugs Want You to Know – Wired Magazine
What happens is that you lose your appetite and also the pleasure of eating, and so I think there’s a price to be paid when you do that. If you like food, then that pleasure is gone. The craving for food for some people is taken away when they take GLP-1 drugs.
So you don’t eat through GLP-1 therapy because you’ve lost interest in food. That may eventually be a problem, that once you’ve been on this for a year or two, life is so miserably boring that you can’t stand it any longer and you have to go back to your old life.
What the Scientists Who Pioneered Weight-Loss Drugs Want You to Know – https://www.wired.com/story/obesity-drugs-researcher-interview-ozempic-wegovy/
Just another GLP-1 receptor agonist post. See Tirzepatide (another GLP-1 receptor agonist post) for more on the new miracle weight loss drugs that were originally developed to treat duodenal ulcer disease (bet you thought it was diabetes).
The entire article is worth reading.
Tirzepatide (another GLP-1 receptor agonist post)
Tirzepatide Reduces Appetite, Energy Intake, and Fat Mass in People With Type 2 Diabetes — https://doi.org/10.2337/dc22-1710
To reduce the number of clicks the rest of this post is a repost of April Fools 2023 (this is a GLP-1 receptor agonist post). Enjoy!
Ozempic and a similar drug, Wegovy, are weekly shots you give yourself that cause the body to produce insulin. Insulin lowers blood sugar, slows digestion and makes people feel full. Carter-Williams tried it and was amazed.
“You are not hungry,” she says. “Like, I actually have to set timers to make sure that I do eat, because otherwise you actually forget to eat.”
‘You forget to eat’: How Ozempic went from diabetes medicine to blockbuster diet drug https://www.npr.org/2023/04/01/1166781510/ozempic-weight-loss-drug-big-business
Everyone wants the easy way out. I sometimes forget to eat but not because of a miracle drug. You wonder if those of us wanting to lose weight know you can’t stop taking this drug once you start it.
Patients discontinuing the use of weight-loss drugs such as Wegovy risk regaining their original body weight in about five years, a Novo Nordisk official said on Wednesday.
Novo Nordisk Says Stopping Obesity Drug May Cause Full Weight Regain in 5 Years–https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/990267?src=rss
Side effects?
Just a few https://www.wegovy.com/taking-wegovy/side-effects.html
- Possible thyroid tumors, including cancer.
- Inflammation of your pancreas (pancreatitis)
- Gallbladder problems
- Increased risk of low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) in patients with type 2 diabetes, especially those who also take medicines for type 2 diabetes such as sulfonylureas or insulin
- Kidney problems (kidney failure)
- Serious allergic reactions
- Change in vision in people with type 2 diabetes.
- Increased heart rate
- Depression or thoughts of suicide.
So if you want to lose weight by taking a GLP-1 receptor agonist remember the risks of side effects including the real possibility of having to take a drug that costs up to $1600.00 a month for the rest of your life.
Good luck with that. This joke’s on you.
April Fools 2023 (this is a GLP-1 receptor agonist post)
Ozempic and a similar drug, Wegovy, are weekly shots you give yourself that cause the body to produce insulin. Insulin lowers blood sugar, slows digestion and makes people feel full. Carter-Williams tried it and was amazed.
“You are not hungry,” she says. “Like, I actually have to set timers to make sure that I do eat, because otherwise you actually forget to eat.”
‘You forget to eat’: How Ozempic went from diabetes medicine to blockbuster diet drug https://www.npr.org/2023/04/01/1166781510/ozempic-weight-loss-drug-big-business
Everyone wants the easy way out. I sometimes forget to eat but not because of a miracle drug. You wonder if those of us wanting to lose weight know you can’t stop taking this drug once you start it.
Patients discontinuing the use of weight-loss drugs such as Wegovy risk regaining their original body weight in about five years, a Novo Nordisk official said on Wednesday.
Novo Nordisk Says Stopping Obesity Drug May Cause Full Weight Regain in 5 Years–https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/990267?src=rss
Side effects?
Just a few https://www.wegovy.com/taking-wegovy/side-effects.html
- Possible thyroid tumors, including cancer.
- Inflammation of your pancreas (pancreatitis)
- Gallbladder problems
- Increased risk of low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) in patients with type 2 diabetes, especially those who also take medicines for type 2 diabetes such as sulfonylureas or insulin
- Kidney problems (kidney failure)
- Serious allergic reactions
- Change in vision in people with type 2 diabetes.
- Increased heart rate
- Depression or thoughts of suicide.
So if you want to lose weight by taking a GLP-1 receptor agonist remember the risks of side effects including the real possibility of having to take a drug that costs up to $1600.00 a month for the rest of your life.
Good luck with that. This joke’s on you.
Sharp Rise in Drug Overdose Deaths in Seniors
The researchers used data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to calculate annual overdose deaths from 2002 to 2021 among people aged 65 and older.
Overall, they found that fatal overdoses quadrupled from 1060 in 2002 (three per 100,000) to 6702 (12 per 100,000) in 2021, with the highest rates in Blacks (30.9 per 100,000).
In 2021, about 13% of overdoses were intentional, 83% were unintentional, 4% were undetermined, and less than 1% were homicide. Older women accounted for 57% of intentional overdoses and 29% of accidental overdoses.
Sharp Rise in Drug Overdose Deaths in Seniors – Medscape – Mar 30, 2023 — https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/990297?src=rss
FDA Approves First Over-the-Counter Naloxone Nasal Spray (Scary News or What?)
Drug overdose persists as a major public health issue in the United States, with more than 101,750 reported fatal overdoses occurring in the 12-month period ending in October 2022, primarily driven by synthetic opioids like illicit fentanyl.
FDA Approves First Over-the-Counter Naloxone Nasal Spray — https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-approves-first-over-counter-naloxone-nasal-spray
Can’t Get Adderall? (plus a bonus Scary Chart)
This shortage is complicated, and has several causes. Teva Pharmaceuticals, for instance, which is the largest producer, had problems with its factory. And yet, Teva today has Adderall to sell, as do many other producers, but the shortage persists. What is going on? I suspect that we aren’t hearing about one part of the problem. Monopolization. Indeed, monopolies often leads to shortages, which we’ve seen with baby formula, hospital medicine, ammunition, and military equipment. And they are a part of the problem here.
The Monopolies Behind the Adderall Shortage — https://mattstoller.substack.com/p/the-monopolies-behind-the-adderall?publication_id=11524&post_id=110279315&isFreemail=true
The opioid graphic will make a lot more sense when the read the entire article.
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