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GLP-1 Drug May Offer Short-Term Control of Obsessive Food Cravings

On Nov. 17, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine researchers reported tirzepatide reduced obsessive food cravings by quieting nucleus accumbens activity in one participant, with benefits fading after about five months, co‑first author Wonkyung Choi said.
Amid limited human data, University of Pennsylvania team used brain electrode implants in four participants to study GLP‑1 and GIP agonist medications' effects on nucleus accumbens food noise, motivated by long obesity research.
Patient 3, a 60-year-old woman with obesity and type 2 diabetes, previously tried dulaglutide , bariatric surgery and behavioral therapy, while a six-month nucleus-accumbens electrical stimulation eased her cravings.
Researchers urged further study to develop treatments tailored to impulsivity traits, warning GLP‑1 and GIP inhibitors are not FDA‑approved for food preoccupation and research is still in its infancy.
In the broader research landscape, the finding adds direct human evidence of how GLP‑1 and GIP inhibitors alter brain signals, with up to 60 percent of people with obesity reporting food noise and many users noting reduced cravings for other disorders.

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Deep Brain Recordings Reveal How Mounjaro Suppresses Food Cravings

A Penn case study finds that a brain-computer interface shows the medication produces only short-term or incomplete effects on related brain activity in a patient with obesity, highlighting the need for further research. A rare look at the brain activity of a patient with obesity and loss of control eating who was taking tirzepatide (sold [...]

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