Live data from Hacker News

GLP-1 drugs linked to lower death rates in colon cancer patients

today.ucsd.edu

81–90 of 211 posts

Re: GLP-1 drugs linked to lower death rates in colon cancer patients

#81
post #22

> However, the study authors emphasize that more research is needed to confirm these mechanisms and determine whether the survival benefit observed in this real-world analysis represents a direct anti-cancer effect or an indirect result of improved metabolic health Given it’s an observational study, I would bet on the latter. It’s really hard to know you’ve controlled for all confounding factors, and there’s a strong…

Agreed.

I'm a big fan of intermittent and water fasting. Have seen things in my blood work that doctors would require me on meds to reverse. Outside of that, I can't speak to the positive impacts on my mood, and general ability to focus.

The simplest solution to a lot of problems is consuming less with the assumption that, most of us (maybe not you), have a lot of spare energy sitting around.

A lie that we don't unlearn as we grow up is we "require" three meals a day. This is true for children who need obscene amounts of energy to grow, but, not for us desk-bound adults.

In the end, giving the body a break to heal by fasting or just consuming significantly less is going to leave more resources for the body energy to deal with other things.

Re: GLP-1 drugs linked to lower death rates in colon cancer patients

#82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop when it comes to GLP-1s We know there are downsides. They’re just irrelevant compared to being obese. (Or alcoholic. Or, potentially, overweight.) It might be a vitamin, where there literally aren’t any downsides. I’m sceptical of that. But to the degree there is mass cognitive bias in respect of GLP-1s, it’s against them. (I suspect these are sour grapes due to the drugs bein…

GLP-1’s should make you less concerned in that case, they’re poised to become extremely affordable very soon. Ending the obesity epidemic will do more to bridge the class divide than anything I can practically imagine. Not to mention the other compulsions these drugs help moderate - alcohol, tobacco, gambling etc. It’s my best hope for worldwide quality of life improvement in the next 10 years.

> Ending the obesity epidemic will do more to bridge the class divide

My hope is the "waiting for the other shoe to drop" folks are just expressing sour grapes.

If it runs deeper and merges with the anti-vaxers, we've got a behavioural problem fuelling a class divide. That is my fear.

Re: GLP-1 drugs linked to lower death rates in colon cancer patients

#83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The laws of thermodynamics apply to everyone equally.

The standard for medical interventions usually isn’t “could it work?” or “should it work?” but “does it work?” This is why the efficacy of every single contraceptive method isn’t way higher than it is. Lots of them should work almost perfectly… but the harder they are to use correctly, the less effective they in-fact are.

Eating less, exercising more, has worked for the entire existence of human race. In fact, it worked for me just fine too. GLP-1s are a safe and proven tool and should be used wherever appropriate to assist people. Both of these are simple facts that aren't in contradiction with either other.

But saying the patent owners shouldn't be allowed to reap the benefits of their investment is ridiculous, especially when it's completely possible to lose weight in other ways. 6 years isn't that long to wait anyway.

Re: GLP-1 drugs linked to lower death rates in colon cancer patients

#84

I am on GLP-1 (very low dose), and I’ve found that it seems to help me moderate my alcohol consumption as well. Maybe some thing like that could also be contributing to the effect.

Is there evidence for addiction tendencies in general? Or is it something specific to alcohol?

A Brain Reward Circuit Inhibited By Next-Generation Weight Loss Drugs - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.12.12.628169v1.... | https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.12.12.628169 - December 17rd, 2024

Glucagon-like peptide 1 agonist and effects on reward behaviour: A systematic review - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S003193842... | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2024.114622 - Physiology & Behavior Volume 283, 1 September 2024, 114622

GLP-1 for Addiction: the Medical Evidence for Opioid, Nicotine, and Alcohol Use Disorder - https://recursiveadaptation.com/p/the-growing-scientific-cas... - May 14th, 2024

The central GLP-1: implications for food and drug reward - https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neuroscience/articles/1... | https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2013.00181 - Front. Neurosci., October 13th, 2013

Re: GLP-1 drugs linked to lower death rates in colon cancer patients

#85
post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not everything has another shoe to drop. Getting people to eat more broccoli is almost entirely upside. Sure a handful of people will be allergic or whatever, but on a population level some interventions are just one positive after another, and there's no reason it has to be a deal made with the devil.

Well glp1 doesn't make you want to eat broccoli. Just less in general

Actually there is a very real effect on which foods you find appealing and which ones are kind of gross. It’s a thing the food companies have been studying, and their own studies show that people on GLP1s tend to skip the junk food aisle and head towards the produce section instead.

Re: GLP-1 drugs linked to lower death rates in colon cancer patients

#86
post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even with an increased risk of mortality, at least right now I can live. The voice in my head that is constantly telling me I'm hungry is quiet. Without it I'd die sooner anyway.

It's not even "I'm hungry", it's just "must have more food". What a nuisance.

Exactly. Food noise is a terrible nuisance. “Go eat.” “Umm, I don’t feel hungry.” “Doesn’t matter, eat anyway.”

Having that on a repeat loop is no fun. Getting rid of it is worth all of the mild side effects and cost.

Re: GLP-1 drugs linked to lower death rates in colon cancer patients

#87
post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not even "I'm hungry", it's just "must have more food". What a nuisance.

Exactly. Food noise is a terrible nuisance. “Go eat.” “Umm, I don’t feel hungry.” “Doesn’t matter, eat anyway.” Having that on a repeat loop is no fun. Getting rid of it is worth all of the mild side effects and cost.

100% agreed. It would be nice if I lost some weight, but just not having the food noise is worth it.

Re: GLP-1 drugs linked to lower death rates in colon cancer patients

#88

I am on GLP-1 (very low dose), and I’ve found that it seems to help me moderate my alcohol consumption as well. Maybe some thing like that could also be contributing to the effect.

I hypothesize that the appetite-suppressing effect of GLP-1 agonists contributes to the normalization of dopamine signaling in the brain. By mitigating the exaggerated dopamine fluctuations seen in food and sugar addiction, GLP-1 may promote a return to dopamine homeostasis, thereby reducing compulsive or addiction-like reward-seeking behaviors.

Re: GLP-1 drugs linked to lower death rates in colon cancer patients

#89
post #60
post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, most GLP-1 benefits (or even adverse effects, like muscle loss) seem to be caused by the weight loss. We already knew obesity massively increases risk from a host of diseases, but GLP-1s are still treated with scepticism of the "oh but what about the side-effects we don't know about?!" variety?

Source? There’s growing evidence of cardioprotective effects independent of weight loss. Eg https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6... > The cardioprotective effects of semaglutide were independent of baseline adiposity and weight loss and had only a small association with waist circumference, suggesting some mechanisms for benefit beyond adiposity reduction.

They also help with slowing the progression of CKD

https://www.kidneyfund.org/treatments/medicines-kidney-disea...

Re: GLP-1 drugs linked to lower death rates in colon cancer patients

#90
post #15

no GLP-1 generics until 2030 lots of people will miss out on benefits, like oh preventing death our drug system is weird

Compounded GLP-1s are still floating around in the US

if you saw the 60 Minutes on compounding pharmacies, which are completely unregulated and never inspected, and sometimes contaminate products out of lack of care/repercussions

you'd never touch a compounded pharmacy product ever again

people have died from contamination

Post reply on HN