Funding outcome

Semaglutide, commonly known as Ozempic or Wegovy, is a medication that helps people manage diabetes and lose weight by reducing body fat. For children and teens with obesity, this treatment has the potential to be life changing. But while semaglutide is very effective at helping people shed fat, it also causes the loss of skeletal muscle and heart mass. This is a big concern for young people because muscle plays a critical role in growing strong and healthy. The muscles in our body aren't just important for movement and daily activities-they also play a key role in shaping our overall health and long-term well-being. Also, the heart needs to grow during adolescence to keep up with a growing body. Together, if both of these muscles stop growing, it could have serious long-term effects, such as compromised bone health, metabolic dysfunction, and increased risk of heart disease later in life. That's where our research comes in. We're studying how semaglutide affects muscle and heart health during growth using young mice as a model for children and teenagers. Specifically, we want to know: How much muscle do young mice lose while on semaglutide? How does this affect their ability to adapt to normal stressors like exercise? And what are the long-term consequences of losing muscle during a crucial growth period? To answer these questions, we'll first make young mice obese by feeding them a high-fat diet. Then, we'll treat them with either semaglutide or a saline solution. After three weeks, we'll look at their heart and other muscles to see how they've changed. We'll also allow some of the mice to grow older and test their hearts under stress conditions, like high blood pressure, to study any long-term effects. Semaglutide is already being used by millions of people, including young individuals. By studying its effects on muscle and heart health during growth, we hope to provide valuable insights that can help doctors make safer treatment plans for children using it.