The brain region that explains why blocking and activating the same receptor both cause weight loss

Key Findings

The First Oral, Non-Peptide GLP-1 Drug Just Got Approved 💊

• Orforglipron (Foundayo) received FDA approval in April 2026 for long-term weight management in adults with obesity or overweight — the first pill-form GLP-1 drug that doesn't require refrigeration or injections.
• It's also under review in the EU and Japan, and phase 3 trials are ongoing for sleep apnea, hypertension, stress urinary incontinence, osteoarthritis pain, and peripheral arterial disease.

Tirzepatide Users Lost 27% of Body Weight — But Muscle Went Too

• In a real-world clinic study of 35 adults on tirzepatide, participants lost an average of 31 kg over the treatment period, with 86% of that loss coming from fat mass — a ratio researchers called clinically favorable.
• The catch: skeletal muscle mass dropped by 2.8 kg on average, and women lost proportionally more fat-free mass than men, raising questions about how to protect lean tissue during aggressive weight loss.

GLP-1 Drugs Are Showing Up in Addiction Medicine — With Real Signal

• A Veterans Affairs target trial emulation found semaglutide and tirzepatide were associated with 68–75% lower overdose risk compared to insulin and SGLT2 inhibitors in veterans with opioid use disorder and type 2 diabetes.
• Separately, a Biological Psychiatry review synthesized three completed randomized trials showing GLP-1 drugs reduced alcohol cue reactivity and consumption, particularly in people with overweight or obesity — with registry studies, animal data, and case reports pointing the same direction.

Semaglutide Was Linked to Better Cognition Over 24 Months — In a Small Observational Study

• In 72 adults with type 2 diabetes and mild cognitive impairment, semaglutide users gained roughly 4 points on a standard cognitive score over two years, while a matched control group declined by 1.5 points.
• No semaglutide-treated patient progressed to dementia during the study period; 14 controls did. The study is observational and small, so causation cannot be claimed — but the gap was notable.

GLP-1 Drugs Cut Alcohol-Related Hospitalizations — A Retrospective Study Adds Evidence

• Using a target trial emulation design in adults with alcohol use disorder and either type 2 diabetes or obesity, semaglutide and tirzepatide were associated with meaningfully fewer alcohol-related hospital admissions compared to other diabetes drugs.
• The study adds to a growing pile of observational evidence, though the population had diabetes or obesity as the entry point — making it harder to know how results translate to people without those conditions.

Primary Care Doctors Feel Unprepared When Patients Lose GLP-1 Coverage

• A new survey found that many primary care physicians who prescribe GLP-1 drugs report limited familiarity with alternative weight management options — a gap that becomes acute when patients lose insurance coverage after initial weight loss and need a different plan.
• The finding points to a structural problem: the drugs are being prescribed broadly, but the clinical infrastructure for what comes next hasn't kept pace.