Health Rounds: New weight-loss drug lowers blood pressure

Mink Therapeutics

06/02/2024 19:31

By Nancy Lapid
       Feb 6 (Reuters) - 
    Hello Health Rounds Readers! With new weight-loss drugs all
the rage, today we feature a study that found a benefit from the
treatment in addition to shedding pounds. We also highlight a
study of an experimental immunotherapy that may save patients
with lung failure caused by infection. And we have a study that
sheds new light on the possible reasons for a rise in colorectal
cancers among younger people.  

    New weight-loss drugs may help control blood pressure
    Popular new weight loss medications may help lower blood
pressure in adults with obesity, researchers said in a paper
published on Monday in the journal Hypertension.
    In the 500-patient study that was part of a larger
weight-loss trial, those who received the 5 milligram dose of
tirzepatide - sold by Eli Lilly  LLY.N  as Mounjaro and Zepbound
- for an average of about 8 months had a reduction in systolic
blood pressure (the top number) of 7.4 millimeters of mercury
(Hg).  
    Patients taking 10 mg or 15 mg had average reductions of
10.6 mm Hg and 8.0 mm Hg, respectively.
    These effects were evident during both day and night blood
pressure measurements, researchers said.
    The study was not long enough to determine the treatment’s
impact on actual cardiovascular events such as heart attack and
heart failure, and the researchers did not look at what happens
to blood pressure when medications like tirzepatide are
discontinued. 
    Still, “the blood pressure reduction in our patients in this
study was impressive,” study leader Dr. James de Lemos of UT
Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas said in a statement. 
    “While it is not known if the impact on blood pressure was
due to the medication or the participants’ weight loss, the
lower blood pressure measures seen with tirzepatide rivaled what
is seen for many hypertension medications,” he added.
    A separate study published on Monday in the Journal of the
American College of Cardiology found that in patients with
obesity and hypertension, weight loss surgery is superior to 
standard anti-hypertensive drugs for lowering blood pressure. 
    Five years after 100 such patients had been randomly
assigned to undergo bariatric surgery or a variety of blood
pressure medicines from classes such as angiotensin-converting
enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, angiotensin receptor blockers (ARB),
calcium channel blockers, or diuretics, 46% in the surgery group
had well controlled blood pressure without taking medication for
it, compared to 2.4% of those who hadn’t had surgery. 

    New therapy may rescue infected patients with lung failure
    A new type of therapy that has shown promise in cancer
patients could also improve survival odds for patients with lung
failure due to severe viral infection, according to early trial
results. 
    Patients in the trial had severe acute respiratory syndrome
(ARDS) as a complication of COVID-19 and were being kept alive
on mechanical breathing machines.
    The survival rate at 30 days was 70% in the 20 patients
treated with agenT-797 from Mink Therapeutics  INKT.O , versus
10% in 20 similar patients who received usual care.
    AgenT-797 contains killer T cells - white blood cells that
destroy abnormal cells, including cancer cells and those
infected by viruses or bacteria - made from healthy donor cells,
researchers reported on Tuesday in Nature Communications. 
    AgenT-797 “rescues” exhausted immune-system T cells and
prompts them to produce inflammation- and infection-fighting
cytokines, according to the report.
    Researchers saw an 80% lower rate of bacterial pneumonia in
patients who received the largest dosages of AgenT-797 cells,
compared to those who received lower dosages.
    Five patients treated with AgenT-797 were also receiving
extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), which the
researchers say is the most aggressive therapy available for
critically ill ARDS patients.  
    Six months later, 3 of the 5 patients (60%) were alive,
compared to 51% of 35 similar patients who were treated with
just ECMO at the same institution over the same time frame.
    Study co-author Justin Stebbing of Anglia Ruskin University
in Cambridge, England said the treatment can be manufactured
rapidly and is ‘off-the-shelf,’ meaning it can be ready for use
without coming from the patient being treated.
    “The potential of this therapy to be used across a number of
severe infections warrants randomized controlled trials,” he
said.

    Researchers find differences in young-onset colon cancer
    New findings may improve understanding of the recent
increase in colorectal cancers (CRC) among younger patients
around the world by showing how their tumors differ from those
in older patients, researchers say.
    “Our team discovered that bacteria were more abundant and
compositionally distinct in tumors from young-onset patients,”
Dr. Alok Khorana of the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio said in a
statement of patients under age 50.
    Khorana’s team used gene sequencing technology to analyze
tissue samples from 136 young-onset colorectal cancer patients
and 140 average-age patients with the disease, according to a
report published in eBioMedicine. 
    They identified unique tumor-related bacteria in the younger
cohort, along with differences in tumor locations. 
    The incidence of CRC in U.S. patients under age 50 rose from
8.6 per 100,000 in 1992 to 12.9 per 100,000 in 2018, with
similar patterns reported in European countries, earlier studies
have shown.
    “By detailing this microbial signature of young-onset
disease, we can look toward new screening biomarkers and drugs
targeting related bacteria,” study leader Dr. Shimoli Barot,
also of the Cleveland Clinic, said in a statement. 




 (Reporting by Nancy Lapid; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
 ((nancy.lapid@thomsonreuters.com))