Researchers believe a drug used to treat obesity and type 2 diabetes could also help slow the aging process. Studies on the effectiveness of Semaglutide, which is sold under the brand names Azempic and Wegavi, found that the drug could be used to treat a wide range of illnesses linked to heart failure, arthritis, Alzheimer's disease, and even cancer. Researchers say that by improving people's health this way, the drug could help slow aging. But is it too good to be true? Here's Professor Brian Williams, the Chief Medical Officer at the British Heart Foundation.

Well, I think what they were really getting at was if you look at many of the diseases and conditions that are associated with aging, the common ones are heart disease, stroke, dementia, cancers, etc. When these drugs have been given to patients who are obese or have diabetes or both of those conditions, and they produce significant weight loss, the evidence now suggests that many of those conditions are prevented to a significant degree. Obviously, we're very excited at the British Heart Foundation that we see a significant reduction in heart attacks and strokes and hospitalization for heart failure. When we're talking about significant, we're saying about a third of the cases that would otherwise have occurred are being prevented with this treatment. That's what they mean by the aging process itself. Going beyond that, there has been an argument at the meeting or a discussion at the meeting about whether all of the benefits associated with the weight loss generated by these treatments, is that the main cause of the benefit, or are there other effects of the treatments themselves by binding to the receptor the drug binds to Does it produce other benefits independent of weight loss?

And they come to that conclusion because when they look at patients who don't lose as much weight as other patients, many of those patients have still seen the same level of benefit, particularly in terms of reducing heart disease and stroke. So why is that happening if it looks like even in some cases, the weight is not coming down very much? I think there are a number of reasons for that. We know that when you are overweight and if you lose weight, and if you particularly lose weight with these drugs. They modify your appetite, and not only for food, but it seems like you may reduce your intake of alcohol. You may also, if you smoke, reduce your smoking habit. So that's a fascinating observation that's come out of many of the trials. So obviously, they would have a major impact on reducing risk. There's also evidence being presented at the meeting that these injections that induce weight loss also produce significant reductions in blood pressure. And obviously, as a consequence of weight loss, we see reductions in cholesterol, we see reduced risk of getting diabetes. The patients become more mobile and more active. So there are many facets, all of those things, stopping smoking, reducing alcohol intake, reducing weight, becoming more active, taking more exercise in and of themselves will help reduce the burden of cardiovascular disease.

Professor Brian Williams of the British Heart Foundation.