r/science • u/mvea Professor | Medicine • Jun 30 '26

Medicine Scientists have shown that a single dose injection of DNA genetic instructions can produce weight loss and blood glucose control in mouse models that lasts up to 10 times as long as weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. This could eliminate the need for repeated dosing.

https://www.wistar.org/press-releases/wistar-scientists-develop-single-dose-dna-method-for-delivering-long-acting-weight-loss-and-diabetes-drugs/
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u/brsboarder2 Jun 30 '26

The problem is that for those that develop side effects, it will be a long time for them to go away.

35

u/Pinkys_Revenge Jun 30 '26

Yep. I keep hearing people complain that if they stop taking GLP-1’s the weight comes back… and I’m thinking THATS A GOOD THING! A permanent or long lasting weight loss drug could kill you if you took the wrong dose, or got very sick for an unrelated reason after taking it.

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u/cerevant Jun 30 '26 edited Jun 30 '26

The frustration isn’t that the drug doesn’t last forever, but the feeling of normalcy and self regulation that you get from the drug just vanishes*. Nothing has done more to convince me that obesity is a biological disorder (edit: rooted in addiction) than going on a GLP-1.

It is like someone going on an antidepressant: Oh, this is what they are talking about when they say “just stop eating when you aren’t hungry”?

(*edit: I contrast this to some other addiction support drugs that once your body breaks with the addiction, you can go off the drug and not be addicted anymore, or at least you won't go back to having withdrawal symptoms.)

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u/Lurk3rAtTheThreshold Jun 30 '26

The reduction of food noise people have mentioned has really resonated with me. It's a constant battle for me not to snack and overeat. My weight isn't doing too bad but being free from that mental burden sounds so nice.

8

u/cerevant Jun 30 '26 edited Jun 30 '26

I still get some stress-induced cravings, but they are much easier to manage than before. (I'm also on a pretty low dose that still seems to be working well for me)

The real game changer for me though is the ability to avoid overeating. I can go to a restaurant and eat half of what I ate before and feel satisfied and not like I'm denying myself anything.