What you need to know about the connection between gastric paralysis and Ozempic

New research out this month is the latest to link the use of Ozempic, Wegovy and other GLP-1 drugs to a greater risk of gastroparesis, a potentially serious health condition. So what exactly is gastroparesis and how concerned should you be about it if you are taking or considering taking these medications?

Gastroparesis simply defined as delayed gastric emptying. When food reaches the stomach, the organ’s powerful muscles usually mash the food into smaller pieces and push them into the small intestine with little effort. But in those with gastroparesis, these muscles slow down or stop working completely (which is why it’s also commonly called stomach paralysis), leading to delays in digestion.

Symptoms of gastroparesis vary, but may include: feeling full too quickly during a meal, nausea, vomiting, bloating, heartburn and abdominal pain. The longer gastroparesis lasts, the more likely it is that serious symptoms such as severe dehydration, malnutrition, and unwanted weight loss will occur. Sometimes, the delay caused by it can also allow food to collect in a hard mass known as a bezoar, which can obstruct the stomach and block anything from reaching the small intestine, a potentially life-threatening complication. . Other times, people may experience few or no symptoms.

Most cases of gastroparesis are considered idiopathic, meaning they have no clear cause. But there are known risk factors for it, such as diabetes and certain medications. And over the years, there has been evidence accumulating that GLP-1 drugs are one of these risk factors. The latest research comes from three preliminary studies presented last weekend at Digestive Disease Week 2024.

Two of these studies found a significantly higher risk of being diagnosed with gastroparesis among people given GLP-1 compared to those not taking the drug, while the third looked at the health of those prescribed GLP. -1 who later developed it. Former patients also have began to sue creators of Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound. THESE New generation GLP-1 drugs are significantly more effective in treating obesity compared to previous non-surgical options. The lawsuit states that taking these drugs has caused serious complications, including gastroparesis.

An important consideration here is that gastroparesis appears to be rare, even in GLP-1 users. In one of the recent studies by researchers from University Hospitals in Cleveland, for example, 0.1% of obese people prescribed a GLP-1 drug to lose weight developed gastroparesis six months or more later, compared to 0.04% of patients with similar that were not prescribed a GLP-1. This rarity may also help explain why clinical trials of these GLP-1 drugs have failed to establish a link with gastroparesis, as it would require studying many people to see a clear trend even if it were true.

Anecdotally, doctors have reported that discontinuing the use of GLP-1 has usually helped relieve their patients’ gastroparesis, although some people have continued experience symptoms long after they stop taking the medication. Dietary changes or certain medications can also treat it, but severe or chronic cases may require more drastic interventions such as IV feeding or jejunostomy tube feedingwhere liquid food is delivered through a tube inserted into the small intestine to bypass the stomach.

Currently, GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy do not include labeling that directly warns people of the potential risk of gastroparesis, although they note that such drugs can delay gastric emptying, which can affect the absorption of other drugs. But it’s certainly possible that the FDA will require an update to disclose this risk as more evidence emerges. Last fall, the agency mandated a change to Ozempics’ label mentioning the potential risk of ileus, or intestinal blockage, following adverse event reports, although it did not confirm ileus as a side effect.

At present, gastroparesis also remains a suspected but unconfirmed side effect of GLP-1 use. And while it may be rare, it’s certainly a complication that doctors and patients will need to be aware of when taking these drugs.