A recent study has found that weekly injections of a medication called semaglutide, known as Ozempic, greatly lessen the chance of severe kidney problems, major heart-related events, and death in people with type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease.
Diabetes is a major contributor to kidney disease, which is a leading cause of death both in the U.S. and globally. Roughly one-third of those with diabetes also suffer from chronic kidney disease, states the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The new research highlights that semaglutide injections can reduce the risk of critical conditions related to diabetic kidney disease by about 24%. These conditions include significant loss of kidney function, kidney failure, and deaths related to kidney or heart issues. Specifically, these severe outcomes occurred 331 times among the participants who took semaglutide, compared to 410 times in those who took a placebo. This translates to 5.8 events per 100 years of follow-up for semaglutide users versus 7.5 events for those on the placebo.
The participants were tracked for an average of about 3½ years. The trial was initially expected to continue for about four or five years, but due to promising results at a midway review, an independent monitoring committee advised ending it early.
