(This is an excerpt of the Health Rounds newsletter, where we present latest medical studies on Tuesdays and Thursdays)
By Nancy Lapid
June 26 (Reuters) – We also report on a potentially simple solution to nausea experienced by cancer patients receiving morphine for pain.
GLP-1 DRUGS MAY AFFECT SMELL AND TASTE
Long-term use of GLP-1 drugs for diabetes was associated with an increased risk of disturbances in smell and taste, an analysis of health records found.
Researchers reviewed electronic health records collected between 2017 and 2026 from nearly 900,000 patients with type 2 diabetes, half of whom used GLP-1 drugs. No one had smell or taste impairments at the start.
Over the next two years, GLP-1 users had an 81% higher risk of developing smell disturbances and a 52% higher risk of taste disturbances compared with patients using other drugs to treat their diabetes, according to a report of the study published in JAMA–Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery.
The findings highlight “the need for closer monitoring and greater public health awareness” as well as for future research to “explore the mechanisms underlying this association,” said study coauthors Jonathan Zontag and Nir Zontag from Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
The actual rates of smell and taste disturbances were quite low at 0.37% in the GLP-1 group and 0.22% in the control group.
Still, smell and taste “are subtle but critical markers of systemic well-being,” with smell dysfunction one of the most reliable warning signs of neurodegenerative conditions, according to an editorial published with the study.
GLP-1 drugs that impact “the sensory world that surrounds eating” might also change “the way in which we experience travel, family gatherings, milestones, and the family dinner,” the editorial said.
“For patients with uncontrolled diabetes, cardiovascular disease, or severe obesity, the risk of adverse effects, including sensory disturbance, may be acceptable,” it said, adding that may not be the case for “marginal weight loss or cosmetic purposes.”
IMPROVING NAUSEA FROM CANCER PAIN TREATMENT
When cancer patients first receive morphine for pain relief, the nausea and vomiting that accompany the initial days of treatment can be eased with a common steroid, a small trial suggests.
The 150 adult cancer patients in the study who were beginning on morphine were randomly assigned to receive oral dexamethasone six hours before the treatments, or standard care without nausea and vomiting prevention.
For the next three days, average nausea scores were significantly lower and vomiting episodes significantly reduced in the dexamethasone group, according to study findings to be presented this week at the ASCO Breakthrough Meeting in Singapore.
Patients receiving dexamethasone also needed fewer extra medicines to control these symptoms during the first few days.
By day 5, as patients’ bodies adjusted to the morphine, differences between the groups disappeared, the study showed.
Pain is one of the most difficult symptoms faced by patients with advanced cancer, and strong drugs like morphine are often essential to help relieve this suffering, study leader Dr. Suhana Sulfiker of All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi said in a statement.
Dexamethasone is already a very commonly used medicine for chemotherapy-related nausea, Sulfiker added.
“It is inexpensive, widely available, and familiar to doctors across many hospitals and countries, with relatively few side effects when used for a short duration,” she said.
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(Reporting by Nancy Lapid; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
