Israeli study reveals: what weight loss injections do to the body
The drugs that are taking the world by storm raise complex questions about digestive system processes. A new Israeli study involving 129 patients breaks down the internal dynamics and provides an unequivocal answer.
Weight loss and diabetes injections (such as Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro) have become a massive hit in recent years, yet they raise significant questions: how do they affect various medical tests? A new study by Assuta hospitals in Haifa and Ra'anana, published in an international scientific journal, examined for the first time exactly what happens when patients taking these injections undergo a capsule endoscopy of the small intestine.
The capsule test is a simple and painless procedure where the patient swallows a small pill containing a camera. The pill travels through the digestive system, filming the intestine from within and helping doctors detect inflammation, lesions, or bleeding. 129 patients participated in the study, and the findings showed that the injections do indeed slow down the pace: in those treated with weight loss drugs, the camera moved through the intestine more slowly, taking about 80 minutes longer than in other patients.
Despite the slower timing, the researchers had very reassuring news: this delay did not affect the results at all. The study found that the slowing of intestinal activity did not impair image quality, the ability to complete the test, or the medical staff's ability to identify medical issues. The small camera continued to perform its job perfectly.
"Although the drugs slow down transit in the intestine, in the vast majority of cases they do not impair the accuracy of the test. Therefore, the recommendation is to make an individual decision for each patient, rather than stopping treatment in advance for everyone," explained Dr. Rawi Khazan, the study leader from Assuta.
Ultimately, doctors state there is no reason to automatically stop weight loss injections before the test.
