Scientists Daniel Joshua Drucker, Joel Habener, Jens Juul Holst and Svetlana Mojsov have been awarded the Frontiers of Knowledge award for revealing the biological function of the hormone GLP-1. His work has been fundamental for the development of a new generation of medications effective in the treatment of type 2 diabetes and obesity, such as Ozempic.
Dario Alessi, director of the Protein Phosphorylation and Ubiquitination Unit-MRC at the University of Dundee and member of the jury, highlights that the findings of these researchers have driven “a true pharmacological revolution.” GLP-1-based therapies have shown encouraging potential to combat cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases. Its effectiveness is being investigated to treat addiction disorders.
GLP-1 is produced in the small intestine after ingestion of food. Its discovery dates back to the 1980s. Joel Habener, a professor at Harvard Medical School, managed to clone the gene that encodes glucagon-like peptides, a substance produced by the pancreas that increases sugar levels. in blood
The breakthrough allowed Svetlana Mojsov, an associate research professor at Rockefeller University, to synthesize GLP-1 in the laboratory and check its ability to stimulate insulin production in rats. For his part, Daniel Joshua Drucker, professor at the University of Toronto, deduced that insulin production only occurred in very short forms of the peptide, and only when the blood sugar level was high.
In parallel, Jens Juul Holst, an academic in Biomedical Sciences at the University of Copenhagen, independently discovered that GLP-1 also inhibits glucagon production. This additional property turned out to be crucial in addressing type 2 diabetes. “It was then that we conducted a pioneering study in which we administered GLP-1 to patients [con esa afección] through a blood infusion. In four hours he reduced glucose to completely normal levels. It was a real turning point,” recalls the award-winning Dane.
Holst’s team conducted a large-scale clinical trial in 2002 to confirm the results of their first experiment. For six weeks, he replaced insulin with GLP-1 in the drug infusion pumps that diabetes patients already used regularly. “We got fantastic results. We almost cured diabetes and got patients to lose weight no side effects”says the researcher. Following the trial, one of the first drugs based on the hormone was authorized in 2005 to treat type 2 diabetes.
The potential of drugs like Ozempic
Research into the applications of drugs like Ozempic has expanded the medical landscape of GLP-1. This peptide has been shown to have a powerful anti-inflammatory effect. “We are exploring whether this mechanism could be useful to reduce brain damage, which would counteract diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s,” Drucker said.
Holst also highlights the possible use of GLP-1 in addiction treatment. He explains that these drugs act on the reward center of the brain, inhibiting the sensation of reward associated with certain stimuli. “In the same way that current products suppress appetite to promote weight loss, they could reduce dependence on alcohol and other addictive substances,” he says.
Specialists recognize that the high cost of these treatments makes their access difficult for a large part of the population. Drucker expresses his hope that scientific advances will allow reduce costs and extend benefits of these therapies to millions of people. “The goal is that these treatments are not limited to rich countries, but can reach all corners of the world,” he concludes.
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