New Stanford Medicine research identifies genetic variants carried by roughly 10% of people that appear to reduce how well GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic control blood sugar. People with these variants naturally produce higher levels of the hormone GLP-1, yet their bodies respond to it less effectively — a phenomenon researchers are calling GLP-1 resistance. Published in Genome Medicine after a decade of international collaboration, the study drew on human and mouse experiments plus clinical trial data. Carriers were significantly less likely to hit healthy blood sugar targets within six months of treatment. Researchers focused on blood sugar outcomes and have not yet confirmed whether these variants also affect weight loss. The findings mark a first step toward genetic screening that could guide more personalized diabetes treatment decisions.
