What is Cagrilintide?
Cagrilintide is a long acting analogue of a hormone our own body makes, called amylin. Amylin is made by our pancreas, secreted in response to eating. Amylin talks to our brain to tell us that we feel full, and is also believed to act on parts of the brain involved in the wanting and liking of food, thus having a potential impact on emotional eating and food preferences. It slows down the stomach in response to food intake, and also suppresses glucagon after meals. Cagrilintide is 84% identical to the amylin our own body produces, having been modified to last longer, allowing treatment to be once weekly.
The most common side effects of cagrilintide were gastrointestinal (primarily nausea).
Weight reductions were accompanied by a general improvement in questionnaire scores for cognitive restraint, emotional eating, and uncontrolled eating, compared with liraglutide.
It is important that cagrilintide acts not only to induce satiety, but also seems to regulate hedonic (emotional/wanting/liking) aspects of food intake. Many people with elevated weight struggle with cravings and the irresistible pleasure of food, and describe a relief from these draws when on medication that dampens these feelings.
