12608 Preserving Lean Body Mass During Weight Loss In Elderly Obese Patients With Glp-1 Receptor Agonist Treatment

Disclosure: H. Ghanim: None. A. Chaudhuri: None. J. Hejna: None. P. Dandona: None. Preserving Lean Body Mass During Weight Loss in Elderly Obese Patients with GLP-1 Receptor Agonist Treatment Background and Rational: Since aging process is associated with loss of muscle (lean body) mass which increases risk of sarcopenia and since weight loss programs routinely induce loss in both fat and lean masses, weight loss intervention that targets fat mass reduction while preserving lean body mass is clearly needed in older patients. We have previously shown that liraglutide, a GLP-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1 RA), treatment in obese type 1 diabetes patients caused a significant weight loss which was mostly attributable to the loss of body fat while preserving lean body mass. Therefore, we are testing if semaglutide, a weekly GLP-1 RA, will achieve the same preservation in elderly obese subjects. Methods: Design: The is a single-center, prospective, open label, randomized (in pairs matched by age, BMI and by gender) and controlled pilot study to investigate the effects of semaglutide (up to 1mg/week) addition to a standard of care (SOC) weight loss dietary and exercise intervention for 16 weeks on body weight and composition compered to SOC in elderly obese patients. Patients: Sixteen (16) able elderly obese (age: ≥65 years, BMI ≥30 Kg/m2 and waist circumference for women >80 cm and for men >90 cm) were enrolled in the study. DEXA scans and blood samples were collected at 0 and 16 weeks. Total mass, fat mass, lean mass and fat/lean mass ratio was calculated. Results: At 16 weeks following interventions, patients in the semaglutide plus SOC group lost an average of 8.1±1.4Kg compared to 2.8±0.7Kg in the SOC group (p<0.05). Weight loss from non-lean (fat) and lean compartments were 5.6±0.9kg and 1.6±0.4kg, respectively, in the semaglutide group compared to 1.5±0.6kg and 0.9±0.3Kg, respectively, in the control group (p<0.05 for fat compartment). Fat mass to lean mass ratio change was -0.08±0.02 in semaglutide group compared to no change in the SOC group (p<0.05). Generally, there was no major side effects or adverse events including no hypoglycemia. Patients in the semaglutide group reported mild to moderate gastrointestinal side effects. Conclusions and Implications: Addition of semaglutide, to a SOC weight loss program resulted in significantly more weight loss, more fat mass loss lower fat/lean mass ratio and no significant difference in lean mass loss compared to SOC. Our preliminary data supports the hypothesis that GLP-1 RA induced weight loss in elderly obese patients may preserve lean (muscle) mass in elderly obese patients which needs further investigations in larger and longer clinical trials. Presentation: 6/1/2024