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Supervised exercise and weight loss through dieting are first-line treatments for patients with knee pain caused by osteoarthritis (OA). To determine whether weight loss with a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1)–receptor agonist also would alleviate OA pain, researchers conducted an industry-sponsored trial in 400 patients with obesity (mean body-mass index, ≥40 kg/m2) and radiographically moderate knee OA,* but without diabetes. Patients were randomized to semaglutide (titrated to 2.4 mg weekly) or placebo. Both groups received dietary and exercise counseling.
At 68 weeks, improvement in pain on a standardized 100-point osteoarthritis pain scale was significantly better in the semaglutide group than in the placebo group (mean score decrease, 4…