12/09/2025
Updates for Cholesterol and Weight Loss.
Medical Science is advancing rapidly and there are newer and more effective treatments for various medical conditions.
The newer treatments come in the form of Injectables.
For Cholesterol, one new form of treatment is a class of medicines called PCSK9 Inhibitors.
These come in the form of an injection once every 2 to 4 weeks and is now available in our Clinic.
The medicine is called Evolocumab - Repatha.
This medicine is highly effective in lowering LDL which is the Bad Cholesterol.
This class of medicine can serve as an alternative for patients who are unable to tolerate side effects to Statins or unable to achieve their target LDL levels while on oral medication.
There is another injection for Cholesterol which can be done 6 monthly.
This is Inclisiran and it works in a similar way to the PCSK9 Inhibitors but it is a totally new class of medicine and contains a small piece of RNA which then helps the liver to remove the LDL from the body.
As it is done 2 times a year (6 Monthly), it is much more convenient.
For Weight Loss, this is where there are some exciting developments.
For quite some time now, the once a week injectable medicines have been out of stock.
They are now in stock and available in Singapore.
These are the medicines that belong to a class of medicines called GLP-1 Agonists.
The well known GLP-1 Agonists are Semaglutide, also known as Ozempic and Wegovy.
How it works is to reduce gastric/stomach emptying, leading to a sensation of fullness. It helps to reduce hunger and craving for food.
Now, there is an even newer medicine that contains not only GLP-1 but GIP as well. This medicine is Tirzepatide, also known as Mounjaro.
Now this combination of GLP-1 and GIP helps not only to reduce your appetite, studies also shows that it helps to reduce fat mass. In fact, a study done showed that it reduced fat mass 3 times greater than lean mass.
These medicines have an overall benefit in reducing adverse cardiovascular events and have shown improvements in the Blood pressure, Cholesterol and Glucose levels.
What are the side effects? Well because of the way this class of medicines work, the main side effects are Gastrointestinal, mainly Nausea, Bloatedness and also diarrhoea.
However the side effects usually improve with time.
Drop by for a discussion when time permits.
Understanding your own body and being aware of the newer and updated medical options can help us optimise our health for a better quality of life.
