Two new case studies are on the site. Each takes a recent article that warns readers away from GLP-1 drugs and checks it against the evidence behind it. They are the latest in a series. The articles differ, but they share a pattern: a strong warning resting on very little evidence.
The first answers a Vice story that the drugs may make your fingernails fall off. The study behind it was a questionnaire. People ticked a box, and no one examined a nail. The paper is on the site: No, GLP-1 drugs won’t detach your fingernails.
The second answers an Apple News story on whether you can stop the drug and keep the weight off. Its hopeful answer rests on a Cleveland Clinic figure of 45%, which measures something different from the trials. The trials say most of the weight comes back within a year. The paper is on the site: Can You Stop a GLP-1 Drug and Keep the Weight Off?.
The series so far:
· No, GLP-1 drugs won’t detach your fingernails
· Can You Stop a GLP-1 Drug and Keep the Weight Off?
· GLP-1 Side Effects and the Dose
· Can You Really Wean Off a GLP-1?
· Is Taking a GLP-1 Drug Cheating?
There seems to be a common bias against using GLP-1 drugs, for a reason I don’t know. If you have thoughts on this, please add a comment.
Great article, Murray. I wonder if the anti-GLP-1 bias is a component of the broader anti-science bias sweeping healthcare.