soul trial oral semaglutide cardiovascular outcomes nejm 2024 2025 align more closely with attained dose than achieved weight loss 💊 Semaglutide — the active

While Ozempic is included on Illinois Medicaids Preferred Drug List, patients must meet strict clinical criteria, including glycemic thresholds and prior authorization requirements

The SELECT trial, completed in 2023 with over 17,600 participants, showed a 20% reduction in cardiovascular events in patients with established cardiovascular disease and overweight or obesity without diabetes

The FDA's crackdown on compounded GLP-1s (with all grace periods expired by mid-2025) has removed a major unregulated access channel, making formal coverage pathways even more critical

Buyers are responsible for ensuring lawful purchase, storage, handling and disposal under their institutional and local requirements

Reported side effects are rare and typically mild: mild redness or irritation at the application site (usually resolves with continued use or concentration adjustment), occasional skin tingling at higher concentrations (typically benign), and temporary dryness during initial use

One randomized controlled trial (RCT) found that exenatide (2 mg weekly for 6 weeks), when combined with a nicotine replacement therapy patch, reduced nicotine cravings, withdrawal symptoms, and post-cessation weight gain, and increased nicotine abstinence compared to placebo or nicotine replacement therapy alone, in individuals who had smoked for at least a year and consumed 10 cigarettes daily [21]