By TONY GUERRERO
Hays Post
Fort Hays State University's Science Cafe delved into Ozempic and Wegovy drugs, examining their effectiveness in diabetes and weight loss.
FHSU Physics Instructor Kent Rohleder led the presentation, sharing his connection to the topic through his prior experience with Ozempic.
"I'm diabetic. I have been taking Ozempic for about a year and a half. It's worked exactly the way it's supposed to work for me," Rohleder said.
Rholeder adds a disclaimer to the presentation, saying he is not a medical professional and no medical advice is being given.
The obvious reason why people need to eat is for energy. Eating provides the body with vitamins, minerals and different macronutrients.
"The first one of those would be proteins we eat in animals and plants, made up of amino acids," he said.
Other macronutrients include lipids, carbohydrates and most importantly, glucose.
Rohleder said eating triggers a cycle: it raises blood glucose, signaling the pancreas to release insulin and followed by several other actions.
"We cycle through this multiple times a day, and as we eat more, making energy and using that energy, then the blood glucose goes down," he said.
This is the typical process in healthy individuals, but Rohleder said it doesn't function the same way in those with diabetes.
In the United States, 10 percent of individuals with diabetes have type 1, while the remaining 90 percent have type 2, according to Rohleder.
Two types of incretins, Glucagon-like peptide 1 and Gastric Inhibitory peptide enhance insulin release, increase lipogenesis, decrease digestion and extend the sensation of fullness in the stomach.
Despite being perceived as effective, Rohleder said that incretins have a short half-life, lasting about two minutes.
"Once the incretins are made and enter the bloodstream, they don't last long ," he said. "It doesn't sound efficient but these are just supposed to boost another pathway that's already present."
Ozempic, Wegovy and Rybelsus are three new medications for weight loss and diabetes made by Novo Nordisk, a Danish pharmacy company.
Ozempic and Wegovy are both administered by weekly injections. While Wegovy targets obesity, Ozempic and Rybelsus, taken daily, address type 2 diabetes.
Rohleder said taking these drugs can be beneficial but they also come with secondary outcomes.
"There are some possible side effects and some of them are pretty nasty," he said.
The list of side effects Rohleder provided include:
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Headache
- Fatigue
- Paralysis of the stomach
- Pancreatitis swelling
- Low chance of thyroid cancer in rats
"When testing the efficiency, they gave super high doses to rats, and there was a slight increase in thyroid cancer," Rohleder said. "But I don't think there's any data of linkages of thyroid cancer in humans."
Rohleder concluded the presentation with data concerning the economic impact of obesity in America.
The estimated annual healthcare costs of obesity-related illnesses amount to $190.2 billion. Additionally, obesity-related job absenteeism costs $4.3 billion annually, with employers facing a yearly productivity loss of $506 per obese worker.
While America ranks among the most obese nations globally, Rohleder said this issue is not exclusive to here.
"We are in an obesity epidemic across the world. It's worse in the U.S. than in a lot of other places, but across the world, there is an epidemic," he said.
The next session of the Science Cafe, titled “Snakes in Jars: using museum specimens to discover new species and test evolution,” is scheduled for 7 p.m. March 18 at The Venue at Thirty's, 2704 Vine St.
The presentation will highlight how scientists utilize the Sternberg Museum's research collections to explore a wide range of topics.
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