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©The Author(s) 2025. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastrointest Pharmacol Ther. Sep 5, 2025; 16(3): 107148
Published online Sep 5, 2025. doi: 10.4292/wjgpt.v16.i3.107148
Published online Sep 5, 2025. doi: 10.4292/wjgpt.v16.i3.107148
Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists: Evolution, gastrointestinal adverse effects, and future directions
Alaa Ismail, Mohab Sherif Amer, Faculty of Medicine, Helwan University, Cairo 11795, Egypt
Ahmed Tawheed, Department of Gastroenterology, Firat University, Elazig 23119, Türkiye
Author contributions: Ismail A wrote the manuscript; Amer MS conducted the database search; Tawheed A provided important technical details, revised the manuscript, and designed the overall concept and outline of the manuscript; all authors have contributed to this article and have approved the final version of the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors declare no conflict of interest in publishing the manuscript.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Ahmed Tawheed, Consultant, Department of Gastroenterology, Firat University, Firat Campus, Elazig 23119, Türkiye. atawheed1990@gmail.com
Received: March 17, 2025
Revised: April 30, 2025
Accepted: June 26, 2025
Published online: September 5, 2025
Processing time: 172 Days and 0.1 Hours
Revised: April 30, 2025
Accepted: June 26, 2025
Published online: September 5, 2025
Processing time: 172 Days and 0.1 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: Obesity is a global pandemic causing chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and cardiovascular disease. Lifestyle modifications and bariatric surgeries are the primary management methods. Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs) are a rising star for managing T2DM by controlling blood sugar and weight loss. However, they have side effects like nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and gastrointestinal (GI) adverse events. More serious risks include pancreatitis, gallbladder diseases, and thyroid C-cell cancers. This review discusses GLP-1RAs' role in obesity management and GI safety considerations.