Anti-Obesity Drugs May Offer New Hope for Preventing Kidney Disease – Data from Australian researchers could partly explain why a trial of a new drug for diabetes, semaglutide, was recently halted because it was found to be so effective. Importantly, the data also reveals how anti-obesity drugs, like Ozempic, actually work, which to date has been a mystery.
New drug trial shows remarkable results
In early November, the FLOW trial of the drug semaglutide on the progression of renal impairment in people with type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease was halted ahead of schedule because of the drug’s efficacy.
Research sheds light on how anti-obesity drugs work
Part of the rationale for the cessation of the trial could be explained by research led by Monash University’s Associate Professor Melinda Coughlan, and published today in the journal, Kidney International. The research shows that a drug that targets a particular hormone, GLP1, also interacts with a receptor called RAGE, to control the kidney damage that is the hallmark of Type 2 diabetes.
New therapeutic target identified for preventing kidney disease
The discovery of the importance of RAGE opens up new therapeutic drug targets for the prevention of kidney disease in people with diabetes. Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) occurs in up to 40% of individuals with diabetes. According to Associate Professor Coughlan, the outlook for DKD has improved over recent decades as a result of improved blood glucose control and blood pressure management through new therapies. However, “a significant proportion of individuals with diabetes will still progress to end stage kidney disease or die prematurely from a cardiovascular event,” she said.
Potential to prevent kidney disease in treatment-resistant individuals
“Our study opens up a way to potentially prevent kidney disease in those people who are, so far, treatment resistant.”
Discovery could explain how Ozempic works
According to another co-author of the study, Professor Mark Cooper, also from Monash University’s Central Clinical School, the discovery of how the RAGE receptor works in diabetes, could also explain how the obesity drug, Ozempic, and similar drugs targeting obesity, work.
“To date we know these drugs, which were developed to tackle diabetes, help with weight loss, however their mode of action has not been understood, particularly in reducing diabetic complications including kidney disease.”
New information to develop drugs to protect the kidney
“We know that the RAGE receptor promotes kidney injury but by blocking interactions between drugs such as Ozempic and this RAGE receptor we now have new information to expand and develop new drugs to protect the kidney.”
This research could lead to the development of new drugs that are even more effective in preventing kidney disease. It is hoped that these drugs will be able to help the millions of people around the world who are living with diabetes.
Conclusion
This research marks a significant step forward in understanding how anti-obesity drugs work and provides a promising avenue for developing new treatments to prevent kidney disease in people with diabetes.
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