What is gastroparesis?
Also called delayed gastric emptying, gastroparesis is a disorder that "slows or stops the movement of food from your stomach to your small intestine, even though there is no blockage in the stomach or intestines," according to the National Institutes of Health.
In a statement to CBS News, Novo Nordisk said gastrointestinal, or GI, events are "well-known side effects of the GLP-1 class."
These drugs were originally developed to treat patients with Type 2 diabetes as they produce insulin and lower blood sugar. They also release a hormone that slows down digestion and keeps food in a patient's stomach longer. This process suppresses hunger and leads to weight loss — but there can be side effects, and doctors warn that long-term impacts remain unknown.
The rise of popular GLP-1 drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy, which are used to treat Type 2 diabetes and in some cases obesity, has also led to some people reporting severe side effects including one called “stomach paralysis.”
The active ingredient in both Ozempic and Wegovy is semaglutide, which slows digestion in the stomach.
But in some cases, the stomach can take too long to empty out, leading to “stomach paralysis” or gastroparesis. "It is our opinion that these drugs are causing these problems. We think that the evidence is sufficient for us to be able to prove it or we would not have filed the case, and we intend to file many more in the coming days and weeks," Pennock said during the Zoom conference, noting the first case filed involves a 44-year-old woman from Louisiana who has taken both drugs, Ozempic first and then Mounjaro, at the discretion of her doctor.
Stomach paralysis can result from a variety of factors, but is a documented side effect of taking GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy.
If food is taking too long to leave the stomach, due to a condition called gastroparesis, it can harden into masses called bezoars, according to the National Institutes of Health.Trusted Source These can lead to blockages in the intestine and other issues.
Stomach paralysis, alongside more common symptoms like vomiting and nausea, is something that Dr. Shilpa Mehra Dang, a gastroenterologist at Medical Offices of Manhattan, said needs to be kept in mind by both patients and clinicians.
Pennock says his firm is investigating 400 other inquires from clients across 45 states.
Tirzepatide, sold under the brand name Mounjaro, and semaglutide, sold under the brand names Ozempic and Wegovy, are administered once a week by shot. Mounjaro is known as a GIP and GLP-1 receptor agonist, while Ozempic and Wegovy are known as GLP-1 receptor agonists.
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