The Benefits of GLP-1 Drugs for PLWH

Those who may have read through the summary of the International Workshop on Aging and HIV here may have noted the benefits of popular weight loss drugs like Ozempic for People Living with HIV. Since then, more study results have shown positive impact on CardioVascular disease (CVD) markers as well as positive impact on liver disease. The weight-loss drug led to favorable changes in lipoproteins, glycoproteins and inflammation biomarkers in HIV-positive people with fatty liver disease.

The GLP-1 agonist semaglutide was associated with improvements in a variety of biomarkers of cardiovascular risk in people with HIV and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), according to the latest results from the Phase II SLIM LIVER study presented at the AASLD Liver Meeting. The report can be found here from Hep magazine. I spoke with my own liver specialist this week and his take was that those who are not overweight may see only minimal benefit from adding these drugs, but if you are overweight (BMI > 26) it may be worth a discussion with your medical team on possible benefits in addressing CVD risk and MASH.