American health authorities announced that they have approved an anti-obesity treatment from the Eli Lilly laboratory to treat moderate to severe levels of sleep apnea in people suffering from obesity, which may constitute a revolution for many Americans.
US Drug Agency (FDA) official Sally Seymour said in a statement on Friday that this license “is a major achievement for patients suffering from obstructive sleep apnea.”
The treatment, marketed under the name Zepbound, contains the active ingredient Tirzepatide found in Mongaro, and is already approved for patients who are obese or overweight and also have a related health problem (such as type 2 diabetes). Second, high cholesterol or high blood pressure).
“This is the first drug treatment offered to patients with sleep apnea,” Seymour continued.
Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome affects about 30 million adults in the United States, according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.
This syndrome is characterized by abnormally recurrent episodes of interrupted or decreased breathing during sleep.
According to several studies, this situation increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, and even depression.
Until now, available treatments have been limited to masks, specific devices, or surgical procedures for patients.
Reducing the frequency of sleep apnea episodes
The US Food and Drug Administration said that in two clinical trials, ZipBound treatment was shown to reduce the frequency of sleep apnea episodes. This improvement is likely related to the weight loss reported by patients, according to the FDA.
“This is a major achievement in reducing the burden of this disease and the health problems resulting from it,” Patrick Johnson, director of Eli Lilly Laboratories, said in a statement.
ZipBound’s license has been expanded to include people with severe obesity and moderate to severe sleep apnea.
The US Food and Drug Administration says the treatment, which is administered by injection once a week, should be combined with exercise and a low-calorie diet.
This medicine belongs to a new generation of treatments that in recent years have revolutionized the management of obesity, a public health scourge.
These treatments rely on mimicking the gastrointestinal hormone (GLP-1), which activates receptors in the brain that play a role in regulating appetite.
Tirzepatide from Eli Lilly Laboratories is also marketed under the name “Monjaro” for people with type 2 diabetes, since its approval by the US Food and Drug Administration in 2022.