Health
Popular weight-loss medications linked to hidden side effects, study finds
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In a sweeping analysis of more than 400,000 Reddit posts, researchers have revealed some little-known GLP-1 side effects.
GLP-1 receptor agonists — such as semaglutide (Ozempic and Wegovy), and tirzepatide (Mounjaro and Zepbound) — have been most commonly associated with gastrointestinal side effects, such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and constipation.
A new study published in Nature Health, however, uncovered some overlooked effects.
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University of Pennsylvania researchers used artificial intelligence to analyze more than five years of Reddit posts from more than 67,000 people taking the popular drugs for diabetes or weight loss.
While clinical trials are still the “gold standard,” the researchers noted that Reddit community feedback reflects a different population.
GLP-1 receptor agonists — such as semaglutide (Ozempic and Wegovy), and tirzepatide (Mounjaro and Zepbound) — have been most commonly associated with gastrointestinal side effects, such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and constipation. (iStock)
“People often use medications differently than they’re prescribed, so it’s also important to look at real-world usage, which can diverge from usage in a clinical trial,” lead researcher Neil Sehgal, a PhD student at the University of Pennsylvania, told Fox News Digital. “So there are many possible reasons we’re seeing signals that the trials may have missed.”
Overlooked effects
Nearly half of the users reported one or more side effects. The most common were nausea, vomiting and constipation, which aligned with what clinical trials found, according to Sehgal.
“We’re almost certainly capturing a skewed slice of the full picture.”
“We did notice a few side effects that have not previously been reported for these drugs,” he told Fox News Digital.
“For example, about 4% of users who described side effects reported menstrual irregularities. Other Redditors described unusual temperature-related symptoms, like chills or hot flashes.”
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Nearly 13% of users also experienced psychiatric symptoms, such as anxiety, depression and insomnia. More than 5% also complained of abdominal pain, acid reflux, headache and dizziness.
“Fatigue was also the second most commonly reported symptom overall, but has met relatively few reporting thresholds in existing trials,” Seghal noted. “This gap between what patients are self-reporting online and what gets captured in trials is really what motivated this whole line of work.”
Clinical context
Dr. Sue Decotiis, a New York City-based board-certified weight-loss physician, noted that many of the reported symptoms, such as disorientation and fatigue, are most likely due to dehydration and hypoglycemia (low blood sugar).
“People often use medications differently than they’re prescribed, so it’s also important to look at real-world usage, which can diverge from usage in a clinical trial,” the lead researcher said. (iStock)
“Patients should be carefully monitored using a structured protocol that ensures proper nutrition and adequate hydration, ideally under the direct supervision of a physician experienced in metabolism and weight loss,” Decotiis, who was not involved in the study, told Fox News Digital.
“Additionally, body composition analysis can help identify issues such as muscle loss, excessive water loss or insufficient fat loss.”
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A significant concern, according to the doctor, is that many individuals are accessing these medications through online platforms or without receiving appropriate medical care.
“In my experience treating thousands of patients with various GLP-1 medications, complications are rare and typically occur only when patients are noncompliant,” she added.
Study limitations
As the data came from Reddit users, who tend to be younger, primarily male and mostly based in the U.S., it may not represent everyone taking these medications, the researchers noted.
“In my experience treating thousands of patients with various GLP-1 medications, complications are rare and typically occur only when patients are noncompliant,” a weight-loss doctor shared. (iStock)
“And even within Reddit, the people who post about their side effects are probably not typical of everyone on the medication,” Sehgal said. “If you had a good experience, you’re less likely to be writing about it online. So we’re almost certainly capturing a skewed slice of the full picture.”
The researchers also noted that the study can’t prove the drug caused the reported symptoms.
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“To be clear, we can’t say for certain whether these drugs are causing menstrual irregularities,” Sehgal said. “Patients on Reddit aren’t going to self-report every symptom they have, and they may also report things that aren’t actually linked to the medications. So it’s important to treat this as hypothesis-generating signals and do more research.”
The researchers noted that the study can’t prove the drug caused the reported symptoms. (iStock)
The study also didn’t include GLP-1 dosage, duration of the medication and symptoms, or other health conditions the users experienced. There is also the chance that the AI tools misunderstood meanings or context, the researchers noted.
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The results must be confirmed with more rigorous research, Sehgal said. “That’s how we’ll get real answers about prevalence and causality, which social media data alone can’t provide.”
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“These are signals, not conclusions – but I do think it’s always worth talking to your doctor about anything unexpected you’re experiencing while on a new medication, even if you’re not sure if it’s related,” he advised. “So if something feels off, say something.”
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A new treatment for endometrial cancer demonstrated strong potential in a Phase 3 clinical trial.
Drugmaker Merck announced Monday that the investigational drug sacituzumab tirumotecan (sac-TMT) met its “primary endpoints” of overall survival and progression-free survival in patients with advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer.
The TroFuse-005 trial is the first global Phase 3 trial to “demonstrate statistically significant improvement” in survival compared to chemotherapy in these patients, according to a Merck press release.
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This was also the first and only antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) to achieve such a result for endometrial cancer patients in this setting, the researchers stated.
An ADC is a targeted cancer therapy that delivers more of the drug to tumor cells while limiting damage to healthy cells.
The investigational drug, sac-TMT, is administered every two weeks via IV infusion. (iStock)
The trial involved 776 patients with endometrial cancer whose disease worsened after receiving both platinum chemotherapy and immunotherapy.
The patients were randomly assigned sac-TMT, administered every two weeks, or a treatment of the physician’s choice, including doxorubin or paclitaxel chemotherapy. The patients were aware of which treatment they were receiving.
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Those receiving sac-TMT showed “clinically meaningful improvement” in their disease state compared to the treatment of physician’s choice, the researchers found.
The study also met response rate benchmarks and exhibited similar side effects to earlier studies of the same drug, Merck reported.
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The drugmaker did not disclose any statistics on exact survival benefit, response rate, side effect rates or other details, but the researchers aim to present this Phase 3 data at an upcoming medical meeting.
The drug “may be able to address a critical unmet need for certain patients with advanced endometrial cancer,” said the lead researcher (not pictured). (iStock)
Dr. Domenica Lorusso, the study’s global lead investigator and professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Humanitas University and Humanitas San Pio X in Milan, wrote in a press release that these results show sac-TMT “may be able to address a critical unmet need for certain patients with advanced endometrial cancer, one of the only cancers increasing in both incidence and mortality worldwide.”
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“Despite recent advances, patients whose disease progresses following treatment with platinum and immunotherapy are urgently in need of new options, and these findings show for the first time that a TROP2 ADC may be an effective option in this setting,” she added.
Dr. Brian Slomovitz, co-director of gynecologic oncology at Mount Sinai and an investigator on this trial, reflected on the study findings during an interview with Fox News Digital.
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“Unlike many other cancers that we are treating, the number of endometrial cancers and the number of deaths due to endometrial cancers are on the rise,” Slomovitz noted.
“In the United States, the number of deaths due to endometrial cancer has surpassed the number of deaths due to ovarian cancer, [making it] the deadliest of all gynecologic malignancies.”
Endometrial cancer has become “the deadliest of all gynecologic malignancies,” one doctor shared. (iStock)
Despite recent advancements introducing immunotherapy as the standard of care, “better treatment options” for patients with recurrent disease “remains an unmet need,” Slomovitz commented.
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“If the full data confirm this announcement, the key questions will be the magnitude of the survival benefit and the toxicity profile — those will define sac-TMT’s role,” he said.
“But an overall survival improvement in recurrent disease is a real, meaningful result for patients and their families, not just a statistical one.”
WHO issues WARNING after DEADLY ebola outbreak
The CDC is coordinating the ‘safe withdrawal’ of at least six Americans exposed to a deadly Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo after the WHO declared a global health emergency.
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The World Health Organization has declared an international public health emergency as a growing Ebola outbreak in Central Africa sparks concern that the deadly virus could spread beyond the region — including into the United States.
The outbreak has been linked to dozens of suspected deaths in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and neighboring Uganda.
Ebola is a zoonotic, viral disease that is rare but life-threatening, according to Cleveland Clinic. Outbreaks typically develop in areas of Africa, starting in species like antelope, fruit bats and nonhuman primates.
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There are four different Ebola strains, also known as orthoebolaviruses. Bundibugyo virus is the strain that has been detected in the DRC outbreak.
While the outbreak does not meet the criteria for a pandemic emergency, U.S. officials are warning Americans not to visit the area, escalating the State Department travel advisory from a Level 3 to Level 4 on Sunday.
A visitor washes his hands at a checkpoint before entering Kyeshero Hospital in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, on May 18, 2026, as part of Ebola prevention measures following a reported case in the city. (Jospin Mwisha/AFP)
One American tested positive for Ebola on May 17 while working in Congo and is being transported to Germany for treatment with other Americans who are high-risk contacts, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
As of May 18, there have been 11 confirmed and 336 suspected cases, including 88 deaths in the DRC.
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“This is a rapidly evolving situation, and case counts are subject to change,” the CDC noted.
While no cases have been detected in the U.S., there is a possibility that it could make its way into American territory, posing a threat to public health.
“This virus is transmitted only person-to-person via infected blood and body fluids from symptomatic people.”
Dr. Jacob Glanville, a leading immunologist at Centivax in San Francisco, which is developing a universal flu vaccine, spoke with Fox News Digital about the potential spread of Ebola into the U.S.
The doctor noted that the virus has a two- to 21-day incubation period, during which an infected person can show no symptoms and the infection cannot be detected by tests.
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“It is thus possible for Ebola to move across international borders silently, bypassing screening,” he said.
“Some travel restrictions from the affected area have been put in place to limit this risk, although as this outbreak was spreading silently for months, it is possible that an infected traveler had come to the U.S. in the past 21 days from the affected areas prior to the travel restrictions.”
A visitor washes his hands at a checkpoint outside Kyeshero Hospital in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, on May 18, 2026, as part of Ebola prevention measures following the first reported case in the city. (Jospin Mwisha/AFP)
Glanville noted that while the outbreak is “growing rapidly,” one week ago there were fewer than 500 global cases.
“Thus, the chance of an infected traveler having come to the U.S. remains quite low for the time being,” he said.
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Dr. Robert H. Hopkins, Jr., medical director of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, agreed that the threat to American communities remains low.
“The viruses that cause Ebola pose a very small risk, even to travelers to areas with outbreaks,” the Arkansas-based expert told Fox News Digital. “This virus is transmitted only person-to-person via infected blood and body fluids from symptomatic people, and rarely from infected animals.”
Those who believe they have been exposed to Ebola should seek medical attention immediately, experts advise. (iStock)
Ebola spreads through direct contact with infected blood, bodily fluids or remains of infected people or animals, including fluids such as saliva and sweat, according to Hopkins.
Cleveland Clinic notes that it is “very unlikely” for Ebola to be an airborne infection.
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The virus starts with flu-like symptoms, including fever, chills, fatigue, headache, muscle pain, vomiting/diarrhea and loss of appetite. Other signs may include a rash or spots of blood under the skin, hiccups, bruising and red, bloodshot eyes.
As the disease is a type of viral hemorrhagic fever, it causes damage to the blood vessels and can lead to more serious symptoms, including severe bleeding or hemorrhaging, neurological disorders and severe vomiting.
Health workers dressed in protective gear begin their shift at an Ebola treatment center in Beni, Congo, on July 16, 2019. (Jerome Delay/AP)
For those who have traveled to the outbreak area, Hopkins recommends monitoring for symptoms for three weeks after departing and seeking immediate care if symptoms develop.
Treatments are available, along with a vaccine that can help protect high-risk individuals and prevent further spread, according to healthcare professionals.
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Avoiding contact with blood, body fluids, and sick or deceased people and animals is “highly effective in the prevention of Ebola transmission,” Hopkins advised.
“If contact is required, high-quality personal protective equipment is recommended before contact with potentially infectious people and/or materials,” he added.
Fox News Digital’s Michael Sinkewicz and Andrea Margolis contributed to this report.
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