Research Digest
Plain-English summaries of new and notable papers: what was studied, in whom, what was found — and what it doesn't tell us.
- 30 Oct 2026Retatrutide in obesity with type 2 diabetes: 80-week phase 3 results (TRIUMPH-2)Weight fell by up to 18.8% on the highest dose versus 5.1% on placebo. Stomach side effects were common, and more people stopped the drug at the higher doses.
- 30 Oct 2026Orforglipron, a once-daily GLP-1 tablet, in obesity with type 2 diabetes (ATTAIN-2)Weight fell by 9.6% on the highest dose versus 2.5% on placebo over 72 weeks. Stomach side effects, mostly while the dose was being increased, were the main reason people stopped.
- 30 Oct 2026Semaglutide 2.4 mg in Chinese adults with overweight or obesity (STEP 12)Average weight loss was 12.1% versus 2.2% on placebo over 44 weeks, in people who count as overweight under the lower BMI thresholds used in China.
- 30 Oct 2026Adding tirzepatide to an arthritis drug in psoriatic arthritis with excess weight (TOGETHER-PsA)Joint response on its own was better with the combination (33.5% vs 20.4%). The headline 31.7% vs 0.8% figure combines joint response with weight loss.
- 30 Oct 2026BPC-157 in humans: a systematic review finds three small, low-quality studies30 people across three studies, none with a control group. The reviewers rate the certainty of the evidence as very low.
- 30 Oct 2026Kisspeptin-10 kept reproductive hormones raised for 12 days when given in daily pulsesIn healthy men, a continuous infusion stopped raising LH and FSH within five days, but 8 hours on and 16 hours off kept the response going. A small hormone study.
- 30 Oct 2026Intranasal oxytocin did not reduce heavy drinking in a 12-week trial100 people with alcohol use disorder: no difference from placebo on the main outcome, though anger and aggression scores were lower on oxytocin.
- 30 Oct 2026Thymosin α1 in hepatitis B–related liver failure: better survival linked to immune rebalancingIn a 73-patient open-label trial, adding thymosin α1 to standard care improved 90-day survival without a transplant. This analysis looks at the immune changes behind it.
- 30 Oct 2026Semaglutide shifted reward-based decision-making in people with depressionA secondary analysis of a 72-person trial found changes in a laboratory choice task after 16 weeks of oral semaglutide. It doesn’t report effects on depression itself.
- 30 Oct 2026Elamipretide (SS-31) improved egg quality and litter size in ageing miceAnimal and lab work: aged human eggs also matured better in the dish. No human fertility trial has been done.