How Saxenda (Liraglutide Therapy) Reduces Leptin Resistance

Our body naturally produces the glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), which helps to regulate appetite.

Scientists have discovered that Saxenda, a synthetic form of this peptide, can help lower leptin resistance.

When it comes to weight loss, leptin is probably the most critical hormone for determining if you will lose weight and how much weight you will lose.

Leptin is also responsible (at least in part) for the weight gain after rapid weight loss.

What happens is something like this:

You go on a calorie restricted diet which helps you lose 20 pounds or so within a matter of 30-60 days.

Your body senses this rapid weight loss and makes changes to your hormones to INCREASE your appetite and LOWER your metabolism to compensate.

The hormone responsible for this is Leptin.

Leptin levels then spike which causes your body to regain that weight that you previously lost, but in the process, you have damaged your metabolism.

Repeating this process over and over causes worsening leptin resistance – so that you are unable to lose weight even if you try excessive dieting or calorie restriction.

Leptin is probably one of the more important hormones involved in weight management, and it’s also probably the most neglected.

Until recently we didn’t have a way to treat leptin resistance even though most Doctors recognised that it was involved in many cases of obesity.

So where does Saxenda fit in?

Studies have shown that Liraglutide (Saxenda) does two important things related to Leptin and leptin resistance:

• Reduces existing leptin resistance – meaning it helps to change the biochemistry of the body to ALLOW for weight loss to occur
• Decreases the rise in leptin resistance once you start losing weight – meaning it helps you keep off the weight that you are losing

These effects seem to be mediated through receptor changes by the GLP-1 agonist and on the leptin receptor.

Either way, the result is the same:

• This medication helps reduce leptin resistance and can help lower leptin levels.
• This changes the biochemistry in your body and helps to naturally reduce your appetite, increase your metabolism and increase fat burning capacity.
• This change alone is probably why GLP-1 agonists are so effective for weight loss.

SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE >>>> Liraglutide ameliorates palmitate-induced endothelial dysfunction through activating AMPK and reversing leptin resistance.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27457805