REVERSE Arthritis GLP1s: Zepbound, Monjauro and Wegovy NEW RESEARCH

[00:00:00]These class of medications are called GLP-1s and we've been using them for years for weight loss. One little known fact about these drugs is that it can actually bring down inflammation even if you're not overweight. I have used it in patients who are not overweight at all but I'm using it to treat the arthritis and autoimmune disease. There's actually emerging evidence that these medications can bring down inflammation in multiple diseases. At the American College of Rheumatology in 2025, there were multiple abstracts and studies being done to talk about these drugs and its impact on rheumatic conditions. There was a study that showed that these patients that were on these GLP-1s have fewer flares with rheumatoid arthritis.

[00:00:46]There was another abstract that showed that GLP-1s when it's used in osteoarthritis can bring down the pain level as well. In another study, they found that the use of GLP-1s was linked to a lower risk of developing these autoimmune conditions in patients with obesity and type 2 diabetes. And also there was a study done on psoriatic arthritis where it showed that the use of GLP-1s was able to lower the disease activity of these patients as well. And I have seen with my own personal eyes in patients that I treat when I give them these drugs even if they're not overweight that it can actually help bring down inflammation to the point where these patients don't need to take their biologics and other medications.

[00:01:27]Now, I will say that this doesn't work for everyone. For some individuals, it's been amazing and a game-changer to the treatment. So, how does the GLP-1 medications actually help with these autoimmune conditions and arthritis?

[00:01:42]Well, we know that the very same immune signals or something [snorts] called cytokines that are elevated in rheumatic patients that can cause inflammations such as TNF, IL-6, the GLP-1 medication can actually suppress these same inflammatory signals, thus being anti-inflammatory.

[00:02:03]And not only that, for patients who are overweight, it actually works on their fat cells. And when you do that, it decreases inflammation because fat cells can create something called adipokines, which are hormone signals that are body that can increase inflammation. And let's talk about dosing. Well, semaglutide starts at 0.25 mg injection once a week. And tirzepatide starts at 2.5 mg injection once a week. Now, that's a standard dose for someone that's starting out. However, you can also microdose. Microdosing means a dose that's smaller than the doses that I just talked about. And coming up in the near future, there's a new GLP-1 that's coming out called retatrutide that is proving to be potentially even more effective than the ones that are out in the market with the tirzepatide and the semaglutide.