The death of a Scottish nurse has been linked to the use of a weight loss drug which was recently approved for use on the NHS.
Susan McGowan, 58, passed away on 4 September this year after suffering from multiple organ failure, septic shock and pancreatitis – each of which were listed as her immediate cause of death.
But the use of ‘prescribed tirzepatide’ – an injection which helps people shed the pounds – was also recorded as a contributing factor.
It is thought to be the first death in the UK that has been officially linked to drug produced by pharmaceutical firm Eli Lilly, according to the BBC.
The drug, which was developed for adults with type 2 diabetes, was approved for use on the NHS last year by the UK’s medicines watchdog.
A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that it could also help obese and overweight people lose weight, which researchers saying it could be ‘game-changing’.
Tirzepatide – also known under the brand name Mounjaro – works by mimicking hormones which make people feel full after eating, while slowing down how quickly food moves through the digestive system.
In turn, this encourages them to eat less and therefore lose weight.
It typically costs between £150 and £200 for a four-week supply.
Nurse Susan McGowan passed away in September (Facebook)
Following its approval, a spokesperson for the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said: “We are pleased to confirm that we have authorised Mounjaro (tirzepatide) – a new class of treatment for adults with insufficiently controlled type 2 diabetes.
“No medicine would be approved unless it meets our expected standards of safety, quality and effectiveness.”
Susan, from North Lanarkshire, took two low-dose injections of tirzepatide in the two-week period before her death earlier this year.
She had researched the drug and sought medical advice about it, before purchasing a prescription of it through a registered online pharmacy.
The nurse – who worked at the University Hospital Monklands in Airdrie for more than three decades – often discussed her weight loss attempts with her loved ones and decided the jabs might aid her.
However, just days after administering her second injection, Susan began to experience severe stomach pains and sickness, prompting her to rush to A&E at her place of work.
Her colleagues fought to save her life as her condition began to deteriorate, while Susan’s niece Jade Campbell was informed that her aunt’s kidneys were no longer functioning properly.
The 58-year-old fell into a coma days later, before doctors realised her organs had began to fail.
(Facebook)
“It was so quick,” Jade told the BBC. “I still find myself thinking, ‘Has that actually happened?’
“Susan had always carried a wee bit of extra weight but there were never any health concerns. She wasn’t on any other medication. She was healthy.
“Susan was such a bubbly person. She was really generous, she was really kind and she was the life of the party – a huge personality. They said she had the biggest laugh in the hospital.”
Due to factors such as cost and availability, tirzepatide is only currently prescribed by the NHS for a small number of patients.
Dr Alison Cave, MHRA chief safety officer, told the BBC: “Our sincere sympathies are with the family of individual concerned. Patient safety is our top priority and no medicine would be approved unless it met our expected standards of safety, quality and effectiveness. We have robust, safety monitoring and surveillance systems in place for all healthcare products.
“On the basis of the current evidence the benefits of GLP-1 RAs outweigh the potential risks when used for the licensed indications.”
The MHRA runs the ‘yellow card scheme’ which allows members of the public or health professionals to submit reports regarding suspected side effects of drugs.
Between January and May 2024 – which is the only public data available on it – there were 208 reports about tirzepatide, including 31 serious reactions and one suspected death of a man in his sixties.
A spokesperson for Eli Lilly told LADbible that ‘patient safety is their top priority’.
“We are committed to continually monitoring, evaluating, and reporting safety information for all Lilly medicines,” the pharmaceutical company said in a statement.
“Mounjaro (tirzepatide) was approved based on extensive assessment of the benefits and risks of the medicine, and we provide information about the benefits and risks of all our medicines to regulators around the world to ensure the latest information is available for prescribers. If anyone is experiencing side effects when taking any Lilly medicine, they should talk to their doctor or other healthcare professional.”
Featured Image Credit: Facebook
Olivia Burke
NHS issues ‘act fast’ warning to stop medical emergency that ‘kills two million brain cells a minute’
‘Don’t delay’ is the key message coming out of the NHS
The NHS has launched a new ‘act fast’ campaign to warn Brits about a horrific medical condition that kills two million brain cells every minute.
It is the latest health advice from the UK health service this autumn, following a cases spike for a brutal winter illness as well as the resurgence of a Victorian disease that leaves you with ‘tiny red dots’ on your skin.
Away from warning us about diseases that are spreading, top officials in the NHS are this week (4 November) launching a new campaign to warn Brits about spotting the first symptoms of the catastrophic health condition that can kill parts of your brain within minutes.
We are talking about a stroke, which can affect anyone of any age, according to the Stroke Association charity.
Now, tens of thousands of people who have a stroke could be diagnosed and treated sooner after new data found that the average time between onset of first symptoms and a 999 call being made was nearly an hour and a half.
New NHS data shows that in 2023/24, the average time between first suffering symptoms of a stroke and calling 999 for 41,327 patients was 88 minutes. That means up to 1.76 billion brain cells could have been lost per person in that time frame, potentially causing untold damage.
England’s top doctor has now urged the public to call 999 even if the first sign of stroke doesn’t seem like an emergency, and said immediate action at the first sign of a stroke ‘could help save and protect many more lives’.
It is after analysis showed that two thirds of respondents (64 percent) said they would not call 999 as their first course of action if they noticed someone was suddenly struggling to smile.
A stroke can devastate you within minutes (Getty Stock Images)
The NHS campaign launches with a brand new TV advert showing example symptoms; a man recognising his partner is struggling to smile while watching TV (face), a decorator suddenly unable to lift their paint roller (arm), and a grandmother struggling to read their grandchild a bedtime story (speech).
It will run across TV, TV on demand and radio in England until mid-December.
Dr David Hargroves, NHS national clinical director for stroke and consultant stroke physician, said: “When someone has a stroke, it’s estimated they may lose around two million brain cells a minute, which is why rapid diagnosis and treatment is critical.
“The first sign of a stroke might not seem like much, but face or arm or speech, at the first sign it’s time to call 999.”
Acting quickly is the most important thing if you or someone around you suffers a stroke (Getty Stock Images)
He added: “Thanks to greater awareness of the symptoms and advances in NHS care, more people are now surviving a stroke than ever before, but there is much more to do help save lives and reduce the long-term impact of strokes.
“Acting FAST remains vital – whether it is a friend, loved one or even a passer-by, dialling 999 quickly saves lives.”
Juliet Bouverie OBE, CEO of the Stroke Association, said: “Over 88,000 people survive a stroke every year in the UK, but surviving a stroke is just the start of a long and traumatic battle to finding their way back to life.
“Mums, dads, grandparents, young people, even children can be stroke survivors, and the impact of stroke on them and their loved ones can be catastrophic.”
Recovery from a stroke varies from patient to patient (Getty Stock Images)
Bouverie added: “This new NHS campaign is so important to help raise awareness that stroke is always a medical emergency. If you spot any of the three common signs of a stroke in someone, the first thing you should do is call 999.
“The quicker many stroke treatments are given, the better.
“As we say, ‘time is brain’, so it’s important to recognise any of the signs of a stroke and act immediately. Acting FAST is vital for stroke survival and to help improve the journey to recovery.”
Featured Image Credit: Getty Stock Images
Tom Earnshaw
Unemployed Brits to be given weight loss jabs under new government plans
Health secretary Wes Streeting believes that obesity is a factor negatively affecting the UK’s economy
The government could be set to introduce weight loss jabs to those out of work to help them get back on their feet and into employment.
According to health secretary Wes Streeting, who cited ‘widening waistbands’ as a growing issue in the UK’s job market, new weight-loss medicine could be given to people to get them back in shape to pursue employment, among other benefits.
Revolutionary medicines such as Ozempic or Mounjaro (which are FDA approved for diabetes, not weight loss) are taking the pharmaceutical market by storm and have been suggested as potential fixes to the country’s economy and the NHS being overworked.
Weight loss medicines could be the solution for the UK’s economy, according to the health secretary (Getty Stock Photo)
The 41-year-old government official announced the plans via the Telegraph, following news that the government had announced a £279 million investment from the world’s largest pharmaceutical company, Lilly.
Streeting wrote for the publication: “Our widening waistbands are also placing significant burden on our health service, costing the NHS £11 billion a year – even more than smoking. And it’s holding back our economy.
“Illness caused by obesity causes people to take an extra four sick days a year on average, while many others are forced out of work altogether.”
The announcement, which took place at an international investment summit hosted by Prime Minister Keir Starmer, also included real-life trials of weight loss jabs and how they impact unemployment levels.
An official study will be carried out in Greater Manchester by Health Innovation Manchester with Lilly, and it will determine if the medicines actually do impact unemployment and the NHS.
It is believed that obesity is a contributing factor to the UK’s suffering job market (Getty Stock Photo)
The health secretary added that this will ‘open the NHS up’ to focus ‘more closely with life sciences‘, as they work to find effective treatments and with patients benefitting from these changes.
Labelling the potential benefits as ‘monumental’ in tackling obesity, he added: “For many people, these weight-loss jabs will be life-changing, help them get back to work, and ease the demands on our NHS.”
Streeting added that it wouldn’t solely be up to them though, as the individual would have to take ‘healthy living more seriously’.
A specialist in obesity policy and researcher at the MRC epidemiology unit at the University of Cambridge, Dr Dolly van Tulleken, explained to BBC Radio 4’s Today show that there are issues to tackle when it comes to the approach, including ethical and financial considerations.
She explained: “Such as looking at people, or measuring people based on their potential economic value, rather than primarily based on their needs and their health needs.
“It’s incredibly important that people in the UK access healthcare based on their health need rather than their potential economic value.”
Streeting says it is not solely up to medicine to save those that are overweight and unemployed, as they must make the effort too (Getty Stock Photo)
It was also highlighted that the government wouldn’t be able to cover the population which qualifies for this treatment, as the 49,000 people treated by the specialist weight management services is a far cry from the millions that could be given the medication.
She sided with Streeting though, further saying: “We know from across so much research… how popular these interventions are. People want the government to act. They want to live in a healthy environment; he is absolutely on the side of public.”
Former Conservative health minister Lord Bethall admitted that they ‘got it wrong’ in the past when it came to obesity, saying: “We misread the public mood; people want help from government – the ‘nanny state’ thing was a distraction.”
