- A new study suggests a lab-made protein called apitegromab could help retain lean body mass when individuals use weight-loss injections.
- Jabs such as Mounjaro and Wegovy cause not only rapid fat loss but lean muscle loss too.
- Losing this muscle can not only have a large impact on a person’s strength, but fat tissue burns less fat than muscle and a greater lean muscle mass is linked to a lower risk of type 2 diabetes.
- Apitegromab, a monoclonal antibody, works by blocking myostatin, a protein involved in inhibiting muscle growth.
- For the study, published in the journal Nature Medicine, researchers in the US found that after 24 weeks, participants receiving apitegromab alongside tirzepatide – the drug in Mounjaro – lost less lean mass compared to those on tirzepatide with a placebo. Experts now way larger and longer trials are needed to test the drug’s benefits and safety.
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