Natasha Loder 🦋🐝

The moral panic about GLP-1 rebound. A new note on my S*bstack.

Big, inspiring news: A.I./Alzheimer's competition judges named TWO winners instead of just one, awarding a total of $2 million in prize money! The winners will use the $s for further research. Congrats to Biomni-AD (Stanford, Icahn) & Prima Mente. Info: alzheimersdata.org

But what does the large-scale availability of cheap generics mean? Read my article from earlier this year: overmatter.substack.com/p/the-6-revolu…

So potentially semaglutide at $14 a month in India according to this piece. bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

With ozempic going generic in India, China, Brazil this weekend, re-upping this piece with @natashaloder open.substack.com/pub/singerp/p/…

And of course all of this subject to caveats that this isn't an RCT but is an attempt to emulate one.

Whiplash implies a sudden sharp reversal which might lead doctors to want to warn patients about an acute risk when coming off these drugs. This, though, seems to say that if you take 6 months off then there is a 4% increase in the risk of heart attack, stroke and death.

Really useful study. I hope the phrase "metabolic whiplash" doesn't catch on for the decline in cardiac protection that happens when you stop these drugs. Seems to me @EricTopol that it is more like a gradual and cumulative risk, rather than a spike?

@zalaly @Biostayan @washumedicine @WashU @VAResearch @threadreaderapp unroll

The heavy lifting here was done by the amazing @biostayan Press release by the wonderful Shawn Ballard: medicine.washu.edu/news/stopping-… @WashUMedicine @WashU @VAResearch Paper: bmjmedicine.bmj.com/content/5/1/e0…

About 1 in 8 U.S. adults has taken a GLP-1 drug. But 36–81% of users stop within the first year. Most studies have focused on weight regain after stopping. We focused on what happens to the heart.

The reckless campaign against Iran will weaken America’s president. That will make him angry. Be warned: he makes a very bad loser econ.st/4lA7lEQ

A Lancet review says chatbots may actively encourage delusional thinking in vulnerable users. This piece digs into why we urgently need proper trials and guardrails. open.substack.com/pub/overmatter…

@TheEconomist 🥂🍾🍻🍷🍸🥃🍹👉 open.substack.com/pub/overmatter…

Were early humans plastered because they were planters? Or civilised because they were sozzled? We trace the history of alcohol, a substance that has shaped civilisation as we know it economist.com/christmas-spec…

Alcohol has shaped human history, from our ancestors’ descent from the trees to the formation of civilisations. But today a new wariness of booze is spreading. Natasha Loder, The Economist’s health editor, explores whether we have reached peak alcohol: econ.st/472QC70

@TheEconomist 🥂🍾🍻🍷🍸🥃🍹👉 open.substack.com/pub/overmatter…

GLP-1 drugs for extending healthspan? Intriguing but we're a long way off from evidence Discussed at length in Super Agers as a candidate drug beyond lifestyle + factors @TheEconomist gift link economist.com/science-and-te…

@willnorman @CityWestminster @AdamHug @TfL High street kensington

We're expanding London's network of cycleways, making streets safer & enabling more people to choose healthy & sustainable ways to travel. Great to see the new protected bike lanes being built on Westbourne Terrace in @CityWestminster. 👏 @AdamHug Max Sullivan & team with @TfL

Your drinking problem started ten million years ago. Find out why and what the future of drinking might look like, and come argue with me in the comments. overmatter.substack.com/p/ten-million-…

Find out more about the radio show, the essay behind it, and come and argue with me about the future of drinking: open.substack.com/pub/overmatter…

My NPR interview on "Are we breaking up with booze?" with @krysboydthink with Think. We went deep on evolution, Gen Z's drinking habits, functional drinks, and GABA Labs.

Find out more about the radio show, the essay behind it, and come and argue with me about the future of drinking. open.substack.com/pub/overmatter…

My NPR interview on "Are we breaking up with booze?" for NPR @thinkKERA with @KrysBoydThink just went live. We went deep on evolution, Gen Z's drinking habits, functional drinks, and @LabsGaba