What the trial was testing
The SELECT enrolled 17,604 patients with obesity. The study was sponsored by Novo Nordisk and tracked outcomes across the full group of patients who matched the trial's eligibility profile.
It was a large trial designed to confirm whether the treatment works well enough for wider use. Trials at this stage are designed to produce evidence regulators and physicians can act on — not just observations to follow up later.
What the results showed
20% lower risk of heart attack, stroke, or cardiovascular death.
New England Journal of Medicine · 2023 · NCT03574597
These findings — that of heart attack, stroke, or cardiovascular death in overweight adults with heart disease — were published in the New England Journal of Medicine and represent the headline result of the study.
Researchers tracked outcomes across 17,604 patients enrolled in the trial. The result was consistent enough across the group that the team felt confident reporting it.
What this means for patients
For patients with obesity, this result changes the calculus on what to ask their care team about. Whether it changes day-to-day care depends on factors like disease subtype, prior treatments, and where the patient is in their care journey.
What you can do now
Semaglutide (Wegovy) is FDA-approved both for chronic weight management and to lower the risk of heart attack and stroke in adults with overweight or obesity and existing heart disease. The most common side effects are nausea and stomach upset that ease over time. Ask your doctor or cardiologist whether you qualify.
Eligibility for the treatments mentioned above depends on specific test results and clinical history. Bring this summary, the trial name, and your most recent labs or pathology report to your next visit.
Open obesity trials
Study of the Efficacy and Safety of Nicotinamide in Patients With Liver Fibrosis (NICOFIB)
The objective of this clinical trial, a pilot study, is to assess the impact of nicotinamide (NAM) on individuals with hepatic fibrosis. The main question it aims to answer is: \- To determine if the treatment with NAM is able to arrest, or even reduce, the hepatic fibrosis. In addition, we also want to study the effect of NAM on: * General parameters (weight, HOMA-IR, etc). * Adiposity distribution (liver and body). * Systemic inflammation. * Thermogenic capacity of adipose tissue. * Microbiota composition. Researchers will compare NAM to a placebo, to see if NAM can arrest or revert hepatic fibrosis and its associated effects. Participants will take either NAM or placebo. The dosage will be 1.2g/m2 NAM per day, for one year.
Pharmacotherapy in Conjunction With Lifestyle Counseling for Management of Weight Regain After Bariatric Surgery
This is a randomized controlled trial employing a Sequential Multiple Assignment Randomized Trial (SMART) design to test whether pharmacotherapy, in conjunction with lifestyle counseling, can reverse weight regain after bariatric surgery.