Keep the Lizard Slim: The GLP-1 Discovery Story
The Lizard Isn’t Hungry, Is It? In this first quarter of the 21st century, cancer and diabetes have been major research priorities. And who would have thought that one of the most interesting drugs of our time would be discovered from a desert lizard? This is the story of GLP-1 medications—drugs originally developed for diabetes that became a revolution in weight loss treatment. In the early 1990s, Dr. John Eng at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in the Bronx was studying the Gila monster (Heloderma suspectum), a venomous lizard native to the southwestern United States. What intrigued Dr. Eng was the lizard’s remarkable metabolic adaptation—despite eating only 3-4 times per year, it maintained stable blood sugar levels. ...