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Weight-loss medications continue to grow in popularity as an anti-obesity tool — but are some more effective than others?

The question was explored in a new study published this month in The New England Journal of Medicine.

Researchers compared the safety and efficacy of tirzepatide (brand name Zepbound) and semaglutide (brand name Wegovy) in a 72-week clinical trial.

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The randomized, controlled trial — called SURMOUNT-5 — included 751 people throughout the U.S. and Puerto Rico who had obesity but not type 2 diabetes.

"Doctors, insurance companies and patients are always asking, ‘Which drug is more effective?’" said Dr. Louis Aronne, director of the Comprehensive Weight Control Center and the Sanford I. Weill Professor of Metabolic Research at Weill Cornell Medicine, in the release. "This study allowed us to do a direct comparison." 

"The results are consistent with — in fact, almost identical to — what we’ve seen in trials in which these drugs were evaluated independently," added Aronne, who was a principal investigator in the trial.

The study found that tirzepatide achieved greater weight loss, with participants shedding about 50 pounds (20.2% of their body weight).

The group taking semaglutide lost an average of 33 pounds or 13.7% of their baseline weight, according to a press release summarizing the study outcome.

Overall, 32% of the people taking tirzepatide lost at least 25% of their body weight; semaglutide users lost around 16%.

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Tirzepatide users also reported a "greater reduction in waist circumference" than those on semaglutide.

The likely reason for tirzepatide’s greater effectiveness is that it uses a "dual mechanism of action," according to Aronne.

"Whereas semaglutide works by activating receptors for a hormone called glucagon-like peptide 1, or GLP-1, tirzepatide mimics not only GLP-1, but also an additional hormone, glucose-dependent insulinotropic peptide (GIP)," the release stated.

"Together, these actions reduce hunger, lower blood-glucose levels and affect fat cell metabolism."

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Additional trials are actively exploring whether tirzepatide also reduces the risk of heart attack and stroke, a benefit that has been linked to semaglutide.

The study was led by an investigator at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian. It was also conducted with the University of Texas McGovern Medical School, the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, the University College Dublin and Eli Lilly (maker of Zepbound).

The participants all received guidance regarding nutrition and exercise.

The reported side effects were very similar for the two drugs, with 44% of people experiencing nausea and 25% having abdominal pain.

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Dr. Ada Londono, M.D., a board-certified obesity and internal medicine primary care physician with PlushCare — a virtual health platform offering primary care, therapy and weight management services — said she was not surprised by the study's findings.

"The results are consistent with prior trials, confirming tirzepatide’s advantage over semaglutide’s single GLP-1 action," Londono, who is based in New York City, told Fox News Digital.

Beyond weight loss, semaglutide has also shown potential benefits for cardiovascular health, sleep apnea and kidney disease, she noted. 

"These findings highlight the need for continued research to understand tirzepatide’s broader health impacts," she said. "It’s encouraging to see ongoing studies exploring the full potential of GLP-1 medications beyond weight management."

Londono said these treatments can come with side effects. 

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"Most people on these medications only report mild symptoms, but some have experienced more serious reactions, such as pancreatitis," she told Fox News Digital. 

"This underscores the importance of reviewing your medical history and discussing any concerns with your healthcare provider."

The study did have some limitations — chiefly that it was not a blinded analysis and participants knew which medication they were receiving. This could introduce some level of bias, the researchers acknowledged.

Londono pointed out that while the study’s findings are "promising," it was funded by Eli Lilly, the manufacturer of Zepbound.

"This may raise questions about potential conflicts of interest," she said. "Additionally, the open-label design and 72-week duration may limit objectivity and long-term insight."

While the study primarily looked at the impact of the medications, experts agreed there are other factors that play a role in successful weight management.

"Weight loss is biological, but it’s also emotional, and whole-person support can make the difference between short-term results and sustainable health," Dr. Rekha Kumar, chief medical officer at the weight care program Found and a practicing endocrinologist in New York City, told Fox News Digital.

Kumar emphasized the importance of working with a physician to choose a weight-loss medication that matches the patient’s personal goals and health status.

"For example, if a patient has fatty liver, we will choose the GLP-1 that is proven to work best for liver disease," she said. 

Looking ahead, the researchers plan to investigate new versions of weight-loss drugs, including retatrutide, which mimics the hormones GLP-1, GIP and glucagon, according to the release.

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"Even though drugs like tirzepatide and semaglutide work really well, better than anything we have ever seen, we still have people who don't respond to them," said Aronne. 

"So, moving forward, we want to keep trying to do better."

A spokesperson from Novo Nordisk, the company that makes Wegovy (semaglutide), sent a statement to Fox News Digital.

"Across the respective clinical trial programs and in SURMOUNT-5, both Wegovy and Zepbound have demonstrated clinically significant weight reduction," the company said. "It is important to recognize that the comprehensive management of obesity goes beyond weight reduction alone."

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The spokesperson also pointed out that in a previous trial, adults who were obese or overweight and who took Wegovy along with diet and exercise lost an average of 15.2% of their weight (~35 pounds) at the two-year mark, compared with 2.6% (~6 pounds) for patients taking a placebo.

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The news triggered a shutdown of cattle, horse and bison imports along the southern border, as U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Brooke Rollins announced in an X post on Sunday.

"Due to the threat of New World Screwworm I am announcing the suspension of live cattle, horse, & bison imports through U.S. southern border ports of entry effective immediately," she wrote in the post. 

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"The last time this devastating pest invaded America, it took 30 years for our cattle industry to recover. This cannot happen again."

The NWS is a fly that is endemic in Cuba, Haiti, the Dominican Republic and some South American countries, according to the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS).

While the flies themselves are found in forests and other wooded areas, they will seek hosts like cattle or horses in pastures and fields, per the above source.

A female fly lays eggs in a wound or orifice of a live, warm-blooded animal. The eggs then hatch into larvae (maggots) that burrow into the flesh, causing potentially deadly damage.

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Screwworms are named for their maggots’ behavior, as they burrow into the flesh similar to how a screw is driven into wood.

"Maggots cause extensive damage by tearing at the hosts’ tissue with sharp mouth hooks," according to the APHIS website. This can then enlarge the wound and attract more flies to lay eggs.

In rare cases, the larvae can feed on people, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states.

These infestations can be very painful and can cause serious, potentially fatal damage to their hosts by causing myiasis, a parasitic infection of fly larvae in human tissue. 

Screwworms are often found in South America and the Caribbean.

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"People who travel to these areas, spend time among livestock animals, sleep outdoors and have an open wound are at greater risk of becoming infested with NWS," says the CDC.

People who are immunocompromised, very young or very old, or malnourished are also at a higher risk of infection, the above source stated.

Those who have had recent surgery are also at a higher risk, "as the flies will lay eggs on open sores," according to the CDC.

If another outbreak were to occur in the U.S., "pets, livestock, wildlife and even humans may suffer and die from screwworm myiasis," the USDA warned.

The USDA estimates that livestock producers in the southwestern U.S. lost between $50 million and $100 million annually due to NWS in the 1950s and 1960s until it was successfully eradicated.

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"Presumably, these higher losses in the Southwest were due to higher livestock populations, larger geographic area and/or greater potential for NWS to overwinter," stated the report.

While the USDA eradicated NWS in 1966, there was an outbreak contained within the Florida Keys in 2016. It affected only in the endangered deer population and was eradicated by March 2017, per APHIS.

Greg Wehner of Fox News Digital contributed reporting.

On the heels of President Donald Trump’s Monday announcement of an executive order that will slash prescription drug prices in the U.S., the spotlight is on current costs and how much Americans could save.

The president’s order calls for "most favored nations drug pricing" — which means "the lowest price paid for a drug in other developed countries, that is the price that Americans will pay," he said.

"Some prescription drug and pharmaceutical prices will be reduced almost immediately by 50 to 80 to 90%," Trump said. 

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Katy Dubinsky, a New York pharmacist and founder and CEO of Vitalize, applauded the move to reduce prescription prices, noting that Trump’s order tackles a long-standing problem.

"But this will not be simple to accomplish," she told Fox News Digital. 

"The executive order doesn't reduce costs immediately," she said. "It directs government agencies to start drafting the rules, which may take months."

Here are the five most expensive prescription drugs in the U.S. by price — followed by five by volume.

Dubinsky detailed some of the most expensive prescription drugs in the country today and what conditions they treat.

1.  Lenmeldy (atidarsagene autotemcel) by Orchard Therapeutics – $4.25 million

This medication is used to treat metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD), a rare genetic disorder that damages the nervous system, Dubinsky said. 

"It is given once and is supposed to stop or slow down the disease in young kids," she noted.

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2. Hemgenix (etranacogene dezaparvovec-drlb) by CSL Behring – $3.5 million

This medication is prescribed for people with hemophilia B, a bleeding disorder. 

"This one-time treatment helps the body make its own clotting factor, so patients don’t need regular infusions," said Dubinsky.

3. Elevidys (delandistrogene moxeparvovec-rokl) by Sarepta Therapeutics – $3.2 million

This prescription medication, intended for young boys, treats Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), a condition that weakens muscles over time. 

"It aims to slow down how fast the disease progresses," Dubinsky said. 

4. Skysona (elivaldogene autotemcel) by Bluebird Bio – $3 million

"This medication is used for cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy (CALD), a serious brain disease in boys," said Dubinsky. "This therapy tries to slow the damage before symptoms get worse."

5. Zynteglo (betibeglogene autotemcel) by Bluebird Bio – $2.8 million

Zynteglo is for beta-thalassemia, a blood condition that usually requires regular transfusions. 

"This gene therapy can help patients make healthy red blood cells on their own and reduce how often they need treatment," said Dubinsky.

John Stanford, executive director of Incubate, a Washington-based coalition of early-stage life-science investors, shared his thoughts on the top five most expensive drugs by sales volume.

"Typically, when the government is focused on the most expensive drugs, they're focused on the metric based on sales volume rather than, for instance, a rare disease therapy with a high list price but smaller patient pool," he told Fox News Digital.

"Often, officials are focused on total drug spending by Medicare or other government programs."

1. Keytruda (pembrolizumab) by Merck — $25 billion revenue (2023)

Keytruda is an immunotherapy medication used to treat a variety of cancers, including melanoma, non-small cell lung cancer, liver cancer and others.

"Keytruda has become Merck's crown jewel, helping the company expand its cancer treatment portfolio with more than 1,000 active clinical trials," Stanford told Fox News Digital.

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2. Eliquis (apixaban) by Bristol Myers Squibb and Pfizer — $18.95 billion

Eliquis (apixaban) is an "anchor drug" for both BMS and Pfizer, according to Stanford.

Apixaban is prescribed to prevent the formation of blood clots and to treat deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism (a blood clot in the lungs). 

3. Ozempic (semaglutide) by Novo Nordisk — $13.93 billion

Prescribed for type 2 diabetes, the semaglutide medication Ozempic has become widely popular for its weight-loss effects and other health benefits.

"Ozempic's sales are powering Novo Nordisk's broader foray into GLP-1s for obesity, heart disease and liver conditions — all areas with high development costs and uncertain scientific outcomes," Stanford told Fox News Digital. 

"The money has gone toward scaling up production to meet demand for GLP-1s and avoid supply shortages."

4. Humira (AbbVie) — $14.4 billion (U.S. 2023 revenue)

"Humira has been one of the highest-grossing drugs in history, generating over $200 billion during its exclusivity period," Stanford said.

The injectable medication, which contains the active ingredient adalimumab, is used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and other inflammatory conditions.

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5. Biktarvy by Gilead — $11.85 billion

Biktarvy is an HIV treatment that includes the three ingredients bictegravir, emtricitabine and tenofovir alafenamide.

"Biktarvy isn't just a leading HIV treatment — it's the financial backbone for Gilead's move into cancer research," Stanford said.

Dr. Jacob Glanville, CEO of Centivax, a San Francisco biotechnology company, said vaccines and most generic drugs would not likely be changed by the executive order.

"Most vaccines that Americans take cost less than a hundred dollars, while generic drugs are often less than a dollar a pill," he told Fox News Digital.

What would be affected, Glanville predicted, are newer brand-name drugs still under IP exclusivity, antibody therapies, cellular therapies, gene therapies and personalized cancer vaccines.

"Some of these are excruciatingly expensive — $100,000 to $500,000 for a treatment course for a patient. However, they are also often the most effective treatments for certain cancers, autoimmune disorders or rare diseases."

The pharmaceutical industry might argue that lowering the prices on these medicines will result in a "dramatic reduction of investment" in creating such breakthroughs, said Glanville.

The industry may also argue that these medicines eventually become generic — at which point the prices drop, according to the expert.

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"From a patient’s perspective, the price of medical care in the United States is unsustainable, and extremely expensive medicine is part of that," he said. But "the insurance system and the hospital business also contribute."

"If the prices of new medicines are capped, then effort should be made to reduce the cost of clinical trials and drug GMP manufacturing. Otherwise, we will lose a lot of innovation."

Greg Norman of Fox News Digital contributed reporting.

The GFNC congratulates winners Carona Mitchell, Roselyn Thomas and Roxanne Thomas, and all participants for showing that healthy shopping can be both strategic and fun

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GFNC encourages parents and caregivers to gradually replace processed snacks with said ingredients with healthier, real-food alternatives as snack options

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A new drug has shown promise in combating Parkinson’s disease while minimizing unwanted side effects.

The once-daily pill, tavapadon, was found to relieve symptoms — including stiffness, coordination, tremors and movement — for a longer period of time for patients who were also taking at least 400 mg of levodopa a day and were experiencing "motor fluctuations," which are periods of time when the medication wears off and symptoms return, according to the study.

Until now, levodopa has been the standard first-line treatment for Parkinson’s patients. 

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Levodopa — which is converted into dopamine in the brain and targets the D2/D3/D4 dopamine receptors — has been linked to side effects including sleep disorders, hallucinations, impulse control behavioral disorders, weight gain, leg swelling and blood pressure changes, according to the researchers.

In the study, tavapadon — which works by mimicking dopamine and targeting the D1/D5 receptors — was found to have the same benefits as levodopa without the adverse effects, according to Hubert H. Fernandez, MD, lead study author and director of the Center for Neurological Restoration at Cleveland Clinic.

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"It provides patients with another option to alleviate their motor fluctuations that are commonly experienced with levodopa (the best drug we have so far in Parkinson’s) in the moderate to advanced stages of the disorder," Fernandez told Fox News Digital.

"This global, multi-center, pivotal trial showed that patients placed on tavapadon had significantly more ‘on time’ and less ‘off time’ compared to those who received placebo — and that the drug was well-tolerated by patients."

In the study, the researchers measured patients’ impulse control behavior disorders, excessive daytime sleepiness, blood pressure changes and weight changes, and found that the adverse effects linked to tavapadon were no different from those who received a placebo.

"Of course, this is a short-term study, and we need to wait for our long-term study to be really confident that our preliminary observations remain true," Fernandez noted. "Nonetheless, we are very encouraged."

The researchers presented the results of the TEMPO 3 trial at the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) earlier this month in San Diego.

For those who were recently diagnosed and are having less severe motor symptoms, Fernandez suggested that a once-daily dose of tavapadon could potentially replace the three-times-a-day dosing of levodopa.

"Should they require levodopa at some point, they will need a lower dose and less frequency, which then reduces their likelihood of developing motor fluctuations and dyskinesia and other side effects," he noted in a press release.

For those with more advanced Parkinson’s, tavapadon could be paired with levodopa. 

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"So regardless of when it’s used, whether in the very beginning or as an adjunctive therapy to levodopa, we think it’s a gain overall," Fernandez added.

Recent research has found that Parkinson's cases are expected to surge by 2050, affecting up to 25 million people globally.

The biggest increase will affect people aged 80 and older, with cases in that age group projected to increase by 196% by 2050, they noted. 

As results of the long-term trial are pending, AbbVie, the maker of tavapadon, will soon file an application to the Food and Drug Administration for approval of the drug.

"The FDA will then review the application — from there, they can either approve it for use, ask more questions that may not be clear, or request another study or an extension to verify some results," Fernandez said.

"We are hopeful that this new generation of dopamine agonist — being more selective in its dopamine receptor stimulation, and given only once daily — will be a significant improvement in the symptomatic treatment of PD symptoms in the early, middle and advanced stages of the disease," he added. 

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Dr. Mary Ann Picone, medical director of the MS Center at Holy Name Medical Center in Teaneck, New Jersey, was not involved in the study but called the results "very interesting and encouraging as a new tool for improving quality of life for patients with Parkinson's disease."

"One of the major limitations of the long-term use of dopamine is wearing-off phenomena and the need to dose it more frequently," Picone told Fox News Digital. 

"The use of dopamine agonists helps to prolong the long-term benefit of dopamine. Decreased benefit of dopamine can lead to ‘freezing,’ or episodes where patients have increased stiffness and difficulty moving."

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"This new therapy would target different receptors and allow for more ‘on’ time, but without the involuntary dyskinesia (uncontrolled movements) that … can interfere with function."

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