Muscle growth drug ‘could reduce loss of lean tissue’ when using slimming jabs

A new drug trial has shown that a muscle growth medicine could help people retain lean tissue when they use slimming jabs.

Popular weight loss medicines like Wegovy and Mounjaro have been very effective at helping people lose weight.

However, researchers have warned that these medicines cause people to lose more than just fat.

Studies suggest that between 25 and 40 percent of total weight loss comes from lean body mass.

Lean body mass includes muscles and other non-fat parts of the body.

This type of tissue is important because it gives people physical strength and helps them stay healthy.

It also burns more calories than fat, which can lower the risk of type 2 diabetes.

A small drug trial tested a medicine called apitegromab, which is a type of monoclonal antibody.

This drug works by blocking a protein called myostatin that normally stops muscles from growing.

When apitegromab was used together with the slimming drug tirzepatide, patients were able to retain more lean body mass.

Tirzepatide is the active ingredient that is found in Mounjaro.

Professor Alexander Miras, an obesity expert at Ulster University, said the findings were very important.

He was not involved in the research, but he explained that slimming jabs had been linked to a loss of muscle strength.

He noted that people who lose muscle mass may find it harder to carry heavy objects or walk up a hill.

According to Professor Miras, this new drug could help reduce those negative effects and improve daily life for patients.