A tirzepatide a molecule present in medicines such as Mounjaro It is Zepbound from Eli Lilly and Company, has been shown to be effective for reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease It is improve symptoms of heart failure in a phase 3 clinical study. The results were announced this Thursday (1st) by the pharmaceutical company.
The study, called SUMMIT, evaluated the safety and efficacy of tirzepatide in adults with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) and obesity. HFpEF is a syndrome in which the heart’s pumping chamber becomes stiff, which causes the organ to be unable to pump blood adequately throughout the body.
The condition is associated with a range of symptoms and physical limitations that affect patients’ quality of life, including fatigue, shortness of breath, reduced ability to exercise and swelling of the extremities.
The study included 731 participants from the United States, Argentina, Brazil, China, India, Israel, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Russia, and Taiwan. They were randomly assigned to receive the maximum tolerated dose of tirzepatide (5 mg, 10 mg, or 15 mg) or placebo.
The aim of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the drug in reducing the risk of hospitalization due to heart failure, the need to use oral diuretics or the risk of cardiovascular death by the end of the study, which lasted 104 weeks, in addition to noting improvements in the symptoms and limitations caused by heart disease.
Main results of the study
According to the study, tirzepatide reduced the relative risk of cardiovascular disease by 38% . In addition, the maximum tolerated dose of the drug achieved 24.8 efficacy points in improving heart failure symptoms and physical limitations from the beginning of treatment, compared with 15 points obtained by placebo. These data were measured by the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ) Clinical Summary Score (CSS).
The KCCQ-CSS is answered based on patient self-report, using a 1- to 100-point scale to assess heart failure symptoms and physical limitations. Higher scores on this questionnaire indicate better management of symptoms and physical limitations in people with heart failure.
The study also showed that tirzepatide can improve exercise capacity, measured by distance covered in a six-minute walk test, and reduce average body weight from baseline. In the estimated efficacy analysis, the drug led to a weight reduction of 15.7% compared with 2.2% for placebo.
“Globally, 64 million people live with heart failure and, by 2030, the forecast is for an increase of more than 50%. This condition greatly impacts patients’ quality of life and, in Brazil, is the number one cause of hospitalization for people over 60 years of age, not to mention the impact on mortality. Within 5 years after diagnosis, the mortality rate is approximately 50%”, says Luiz Magno, Senior Director of the Medical Area at Lilly Brazil, in a press release.
“That’s why results like those achieved with tirzepatide are so important for treating this disease,” adds Magno.
What is tirzepatide and how is it different from medications like Ozempic and Wegovy?
Tirzepatide is a molecule present in medications such as Mounjaro, indicated for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and already approved in Brazil, and Zepbound, indicated for the treatment of obesity. It acts in the body by activating the receptors of two hormones: GIP (glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide) and GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide 1).
These two hormones are found in areas of the human brain and are important for regulating appetite, as well as increasing insulin production by the pancreas to maintain blood sugar control.
For this reason, tirzepatide is commonly compared to semaglutide, a molecule present in medications such as Ozempic and Wegovy, from the Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk, which is also a drug in the class of GLP-1 hormone analogues. However, despite acting in a similar way, tirzepatide has already shown itself to be more “powerful” than semaglutide for weight loss, as it stimulates the action of GIP, in addition to GLP-1.
Tirzepatide is currently being studied as a potential treatment for obese and/or overweight people with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH). Studies of tirzepatide in chronic kidney disease (CKD) and obesity morbidity/mortality (OMM) are also ongoing.
Source: CNN Brasil
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