Oct. 31, 2024 – People with severe osteoarthritis of the knee are often no strangers to shots. Injections of steroids and lubricating substances have been a go-to treatment for years.
But now, a new study in The New England Journal of Medicine shows that they may want to consider a self-injection option – of the weight loss drug semaglutide. People with moderate osteoarthritis of the knee who took the drug weekly for more than a year reported nearly a 50% decrease in their pain level.
All of the people in the study had obesity and took part in counseling about physical activity and a reduced-calorie diet. Those who took semaglutide for 15 months lost an average of 14% of their body weight, according to the findings, which were published Wednesday. In comparison, those in the study who took a placebo shot lost an average of 3% of their body weight.
Semaglutide is marketed under the name Wegovy for weight loss and Ozempic for diabetes, and the FDA has also approved it to reduce risks to the heart and blood vessels of people with overweight or obesity.
“Obesity-related knee osteoarthritis is a progressive condition that can lead to pain and stiffness of the knee and impair critical daily functions such as walking or moving around. The risk of developing the condition is more than four times higher in people with obesity. Weight reduction along with physical activity is often a recommended approach to managing painful symptoms, but adherence can be challenging," said lead study author Henning Bliddal, MD, MSci, of Denmark’s Copenhagen University Hospital, according to a news release from drugmaker Novo Nordisk. “There is a significant need for non-surgical and sustainable treatment options for those living with obesity-related osteoarthritis.”
Past studies have found that losing 10% to 20% of body weight leads to a dramatic reduction in symptoms, including walking farther during a six-minute session and reduced signs of inflammation and swelling based on blood tests. Osteoarthritis refers to the gradual breakdown of cartilage that cushions joints. There is no cure for osteoarthritis.
This latest study included 407 adults whose average starting weight was 240 pounds. About 82% of them were women, and the average age of people in the study was 56 years old. (Women are at a higher risk of osteoarthritis than men.)
At the start of the study, people reported an average pain level of 71 out of 100 points. By the end of the study, those who took semaglutide reported a 42-point reduction in pain, compared to a 27.5-point drop among those in the control group. People taking semaglutide were more likely to reduce their use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) or acetaminophen, compared to the control group.
The researchers said their study wasn’t designed to find out exactly what caused the reduced knee arthritis symptoms, but they suggested that weight loss was the most likely behind it. But they allowed that the anti-inflammatory properties of semaglutide may also have been a factor.
A number of people dropped out of the study. About 13% of those taking semaglutide didn’t complete the treatment period, and 22% of people in the diet and exercise group also didn’t finish. Among those in the semaglutide group, 6.7% dropped out due to adverse events, and 3% in the control group dropped out due to adverse events. Just over 2% of people who took semaglutide reported digestive problems, which are well-known to happen among people taking the drug. No one in the control group dropped out of the study due to digestive problems.
“There were no unexpected findings with respect to the safety focus areas,” wrote the authors of the study, which was funded by Novo Nordisk.
