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CASE REPORT article

Front. Endocrinol.
Sec. Obesity
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fendo.2024.1528457

Long-term efficacy and safety of semaglutide in the treatment of syndromic obesity in Prader Willi Syndrome - case series and literature review

Provisionally accepted
Andrijana Koceva Andrijana Koceva 1,2Katarina Mlekuš Kozamernik Katarina Mlekuš Kozamernik 3,4Andrej Janež Andrej Janež 3,4Rok Herman Rok Herman 3,4Simona Ferjan Simona Ferjan 3,4Mojca Jensterle Mojca Jensterle 3,4*
  • 1 Department of Endocrinology and Diabetology, Maribor University Medical Centre, Maribor, Slovenia
  • 2 Faculty of Medicine, University of Maribor, Maribor, Slovenia
  • 3 Department of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases, University Medical Centre Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
  • 4 Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    1. Introduction Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is the most prevalent cause of syndromic obesity. Obesity development in PWS is driven by dysfunction in neural pathways involved in satiety and reward, dysregulation in hormones regulating satiety and food intake, altered body composition and reduced energy expenditure, as well as the presence of various hormone deficiencies. As hyperphagia, satiety dysfunction and consequent food-seeking behaviors are intrinsic to PWS, obesity management can be challenging. Case series: We present a long-term follow-up of treatment with GLP-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1 RA) semaglutide in three patients with PWS without diabetes, one of whom had previously undergone metabolic surgery. Semaglutide treatment at dosages from 0.5 mg to 2 mg weekly demonstrated variable efficacy, from preventing further weight gain in Patient 1, to achieving weight loss of up to 14.4% and 11% relative to baseline, in Patient 2 and Patient 3. It was well tolerated, even after metabolic surgery. Conclusion: Long-term randomized placebo-controlled trials with larger sample sizes are needed to provide stronger evidence on the long-term efficacy and safety of semaglutide for obesity treatment in PWS as well as explore the potential synergistic effects of GLP-1 RA treatment combined with other therapeutic interventions.

    Keywords: Prader-Willi Syndrome, Obesity, GLP-1 receptor agonist, Semaglutide, metabolic surgery

    Received: 14 Nov 2024; Accepted: 30 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Koceva, Mlekuš Kozamernik, Janež, Herman, Ferjan and Jensterle. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Mojca Jensterle, Department of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases, University Medical Centre Ljubljana, Ljubljana, 1000, Slovenia

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.