After scientific studies validated the appetite-reducing and weight-reducing effect of a diabetes drug, this therapeutic molecule became increasingly sought after in obesity therapy. At the same time, studies have begun to verify the effects of semaglutide treatment in other pathologies.
The medicines Ozempic and Wegovy contain semaglutide and are used to treat diabetes and weight loss. There is also evidence that semaglutide reduces the risk of serious heart problems in overweight adults with heart disease, and that taking semaglutide may actually improve joint pain. The anti-inflammatory properties of semaglutide could have positive effects in people with osteoarthritis. In a recent clinical trial, semaglutide was shown to improve kidney function in patients with type 2 diabetes by reducing inflammatory responses.
However, the first studies on the dermatological effects of the drug with which obesity therapy is being tried have also appeared, Medscape cites the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.
A review of the 22 most important scientific articles published so far found a higher incidence of skin sensitivity and alopecia in people receiving oral semaglutide than in those receiving placebo. However, alopecia (hair loss) does not have an increased incidence in people receiving injectable semaglutide.
The research published by JAAD included 22 articles (15 clinical trials, six case reports and one retrospective cohort study), published up to January 2024, about patients who received either semaglutide or a placebo or a comparator, which included reports of adverse dermatological events associated with semaglutide in 255 participants.
Altered skin sensations include pain, paresthesia, and increased skin sensitivity. Unspecified dermatological reactions were reported in more patients with subcutaneous semaglutide than with placebo or comparator. Several case reports have described isolated cases of severe cutaneous adverse effects such as bullous pemphigoid, eosinophilic fasciitis and vasculitis. In contrast, injection site reactions were less common in patients on subcutaneous semaglutide compared to those on placebo or comparator.
The study authors acknowledge that they could not adjust the data to correct for the influence of other factors or treatments and could not establish a direct causal association between semaglutide and the reported dermatological adverse reactions, requiring further research on the dermatological effects of semaglutide.
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