Research roundup: week of Sep 28, 2026

[Sport] · News from Oct 3, 2026

Asian Games test flags GW1516 (cardarine), a steroid and a stimulant

The International Testing Agency (ITA) reported an apparent violation from an in-competition sample taken Sept 27 in Nagoya at the Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026:

• 3 banned substances: GW1516, the steroid metandienone and the stimulant mephentermine
• GW1516 and metandienone are banned at all times; mephentermine in competition only
• GW1516 is often sold as a SARM but is a PPAR-delta agonist
• USADA says it was pulled from clinical trials after causing cancer in animal studies and is not approved anywhere

Status: provisional suspension, not final. B-sample analysis and a CAS challenge remain open.

Source: International Testing Agency, Oct 3, 2026

[GLP-1] · News from Oct 1, 2026

Study: nail and hair changes more common in GLP-1 users

A four-country study at the EADV dermatology congress compared 575 GLP-1 users with 1,329 people with obesity or type 2 diabetes who never took them:

• Nail detachment: 39% of users vs 9% of never-users
• Nail discoloration: 46% vs 17%
• Unusual hair loss: 50% vs 34% (companion study)
• Adjusted for skin conditions and nutrient deficiencies, detachment and discoloration were still about 2-3 times more common
• Differences held in people who lost weight

Big caveats: self-reported, one point in time, and about half of users had nail problems before starting, so it can't show the drugs cause this. Planned follow-ups will track iron, zinc, B12, vitamin D and protein.

Source: HCPLive, Oct 1, 2026

[Peptides] · News from Oct 1, 2026

Senolytic combo improves liver scarring in a small randomized MASH trial

A phase 2 trial gave 31 adults with fibrotic MASH (fatty liver with inflammation and scarring) dasatinib plus quercetin (D+Q), a "senolytic" combo meant to clear worn-out senescent cells, or placebo for 21 weeks:

• Liver scarring improved on biopsy in 47% vs 7% (8 of 17 vs 1 of 14)
• MASH resolved in 53% vs 7%
• Side effects: 82% vs 43%, all self-limiting; headache was most common, and 1 person quit over gut symptoms

Small, early proof-of-principle study in one liver disease, not aging overall. Neither drug is approved for MASH or aging.

Source: Nature Metabolism, Oct 1, 2026

[GLP-1] · News from Sep 30, 2026

CagriSema at EASD: food noise, brain scans, organ fat

Novo Nordisk showed new EASD 2026 data on CagriSema, its investigational weekly cagrilintide + semaglutide combo:

• 52-week brain-scan (fMRI) study: changed responses to high-calorie food pictures in craving and reward areas
• Less food noise, cravings and hunger at weeks 22 and 52; body weight 22.4% lower vs placebo at 52 weeks
• Type 2 diabetes MRI sub-study (40 weeks): less fat in the abdomen and around the liver and pancreas vs placebo
• Type 2 diabetes bone-marker analysis (post hoc, 68 weeks): authors call it preliminary reassurance

Conference abstracts, not peer-reviewed papers. A US FDA decision is expected in Q4 2026.

Source: Novo Nordisk, Sept 30, 2026

Our guides: Semaglutide · Cagrilintide

[GLP-1] · News from Sep 30, 2026

Amylin + tirzepatide: more weight loss, harder to tolerate

Lilly's Phase 2b trial tested its experimental amylin drug eloralintide, alone and with tirzepatide, in 367 adults with type 2 diabetes and obesity or overweight for 48 weeks:

• Top combination: −23.3% body weight vs −14.8% on tirzepatide alone (placebo −3.0%)
• A1C down 2.9 points vs 2.4 on tirzepatide alone
• 10.8% to 27.0% stopped treatment due to side effects on the combinations, vs 2.9% on tirzepatide alone (placebo 16.7%)
• Side effects were mostly GI, mainly during dose escalation

Investigational and not yet peer-reviewed (company release + EASD 2026 data). Results assume everyone stayed on treatment. Phase 3 of a single-injection version is planned by end of 2026.

Source: Eli Lilly, Sept 30, 2026

Our guides: Tirzepatide

[GLP-1] · News from Sep 29, 2026

Retatrutide's first Phase 3 obesity papers are out

Lilly's two 80-week trials of the weekly triple agonist are now peer-reviewed in NEJM and The Lancet:

• TRIUMPH-1 (2,339 adults, no diabetes): −17.6% to −25.0% body weight across doses vs −3.9% on placebo
• TRIUMPH-2 (1,152 adults with type 2 diabetes): −11.9% to −18.8% vs −5.1% on placebo
• Both count everyone randomized. Lilly's earlier top-dose figures (28.3% and 20.8%) assumed everyone stayed on treatment
• TRIUMPH-2 top dose vs placebo: diarrhea 34% vs 13%, low blood pressure 6% vs under 1%, dysesthesia (abnormal skin sensation) 7% vs 1%

Still investigational and not FDA-approved. Lilly plans a US filing in early 2027.

Source: NEJM and The Lancet via PubMed, Sept 29, 2026

Our guides: Retatrutide

[Regulatory] · News from Sep 28, 2026

EU safety committee's agenda lists colitis and hair-loss signals for GLP-1 drugs

EMA's drug-safety committee (PRAC) had three GLP-1 safety signals on its draft agenda for Sept 28–Oct 1:

• New: ischaemic colitis (reduced blood flow to the colon) with semaglutide (Ozempic, Rybelsus, Wegovy), led by Sweden
• New: alopecia (hair loss) with liraglutide (Victoza, Saxenda), led by the Netherlands
• Follow-up from May 2026: gastrointestinal volvulus (a twisted bowel) with semaglutide

A signal is a possible link that needs assessing, not proof the drug causes it. No label changes so far; PRAC's recommendations on these signals haven't been published yet.

Source: European Medicines Agency (PRAC agenda), Sept 28, 2026

Our guides: Semaglutide · Liraglutide · Ozempic (semaglutide) · Rybelsus (semaglutide) · Saxenda (liraglutide) · Wegovy (semaglutide)