I found these points very interesting, But GLP-1 receptors exist in many more organs, so there are probably even more mechanisms at play for weight loss that we have yet to discover. Explaining why GLP-1 drugs improve health without weight loss defies simple narratives and confounds researchers. I’ve never come across another medical story where scientists repeatedly apologize for how bewildering their results appear to be. For each one of the effects they dig into, they come to different explanations for how the drugs help. In some cases, GLP-1s seem to target the organs involved in diseases directly, making them healthier. In other cases, the drugs help the body handle blood sugar and fat, making people “more metabolically flexible” and “biochemically more youthful,” said Dr. DiMarchi. One of the most mysterious and fascinating ways they work is through reducing inflammation. Inflammation is part of the body’s natural response to injury and infection. It can signal healing, but it can also be present and harmful in the context of chronic disease. Dr. Drucker’s lab at the University of Toronto has pivoted from studying chronic diseases like diabetes and obesity to unraveling the immune system effects of GLP-1s. “We realized very quickly one underlying theme of all these was inflammation,” he said, of the diseases.
