Such heart failure, associated with obesity, can severely limit a person’s ability to perform simple daily activities. They tire easily and often have trouble breathing, some of them need oxygen, and their condition is deteriorating to the point of hospitalization, disability and death.
The new “case control” study funded by the manufacturer of the Vigobi drug, Novo Nordisk, randomly selected 616 people who suffered from type 2 diabetes (“adult diabetes”) and heart failure, the participants came from 16 countries in Asia, Europe and America. All had a body mass index of 30 or more, meaning they were obese. One group of subjects received the weekly Vigobi injection, and the other group received a placebo – an injection without an active substance.
Participants who received Vigobi started at a lower dose and gradually increased to the effective dose of 2.4 milligrams once a week. The researchers followed both groups for a year. Those who received Vigobi had much better results: they lost more weight, reduced heart failure-related symptoms including fatigue and physical limitations, were able to walk further for 6 consecutive minutes, and also showed improvements in biomarkers for inflammation and other problems. The Vigovi group also had fewer side effects such as hospitalizations and emergency doctor visits.
During the study period, 55 serious side effects were reported in the Vigobi group and 88 in the placebo group. Six people died in the Vigobi group during the study compared to 10 in the other group. One death in the Nutley Wigoby group and four in the placebo group were related to heart problems.
However, said the head of the research team Dr Michael Kosybrod a cardiologist from the Kansas Medical Center in Missouri, because the results indicate that Vigobi is an effective and safe treatment for a wide population of people, including diabetics who are considered very complex patients.
Is it the weight loss that leads to the positive results on the heart? Dr. Kosybrod: “Weight loss is probably an important factor, but cannot explain all the benefits. If people with diabetes lost 40% less weight on the drug than similar heart patients without diabetes, you might expect to see 40% less benefit, he said, but the positive benefits were actually about the same. These are patients who are really difficult to treat, and there are many more of them every day. Until recently, we had very little to offer them, and now there is effective treatment, which is wonderful news for patients and the doctors who treat them.”
At the same time as the new results, Wegobi is starting to fill the shelves of pharmacies in Israel as well: “Maariv” has learned that in a few days you can get the new medicine by ordering from the pharmacy. The syringes arrive within a few days directly from Novo Nordisk Marlog in Israel. As a reminder, the drug is given in increasing doses, from 0.25 mg until reaching the effective dose of 2.4 mg after several months. The cost of the treatment is NIS 1,250 per month for the final dose, with which you stay for at least a year, and in most cases – for life.