Madison Burgess
A doctor has issued a warning over a worrying new side effect of drugs used to aid weight loss.
Drugs such as Mounjaro, Wegovy and Ozempic - the latter of which is approved to treat type 2 diabetes and not solely for weight loss - have been increasing in use in the last few years.
However, as more and more people begin using different GLP-1 medications, more unusual side effects are being reported.
The most common side effects include nausea and vomiting, diarrhoea, stomach pain, constipation and heartburn.
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While the more niche ones that have been reported range from everything between 'Ozempic vulva' to 'Ozempic teeth'.
And now, a new study by researches from Alliance Medical Ltd has revealed that these popular medications might be causing an unexpected complication for doctors.
GLP-1 drugs are said to be interfering with critical medical imaging scans, making it harder for doctors to identify deadly illnesses.
This can also lead to delayed diagnoses and treatments for some, while others might be unnecessarily undergo tests and procedures they don't need.
The particular scan that's named by the study and The New York Post is PET-CT scans - a scan that provides a detailed 3D picture of how organs and tissues are functioning and their precise location.
PET-CT combine a CT scan and PET scan and they are used to diagnose and plan treatment for conditions such as cancer, as per the NHS.
The PET scan uses a mildly radioactive liquid called a radioactive tracer or FDG (fludeoxyglucose) which shows up areas of your body where cells are more active than normal and can be used to identify cancer.
However, according to the new study, doctors have observed unusual patterns of FDG in patients taking GLP-1 medications, which can mask signs of cancer or make healthy tissue look diseased.
Dr. Peter Strouhal, a medical director at Alliance Medical Ltd in the UK and lead author of the new study, said in a statement: "We noticed unusual uptake in one of our patients on a GLP-1 agonist, which prompted a wider review across our network."
He added: “We found that these altered patterns are increasingly common, yet there is currently no national or international guidance in the UK addressing this emerging issue.
"Recognising the characteristic uptake associated with GLP-1 agonists helps avoid unnecessary anxiety and interventions, ensuring patients receive the right care, at the right time, without detours or doubt."
However, this doesn't mean that experts recommend patients stop taking GLP-1 medications before undergoing PET-CT scans.
Instead, they have advised that imaging teams carefully document their patients’ medication histories to assist doctors with interpreting their scans while formal guidelines are being developed.
The team behind the study are now planning to expand its data collection in order to build stronger evidence and help with future national guidelines.
The new research was presented on Tuesday (7 October) at the 38th Annual Congress of the European Association of Nuclear Medicine.
LADbible Group has contacted Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly for comment.