Dr. Richard Pratley Featured in Nature Medicine for Breakthrough Obesity Research

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  • AdventHealth Research Institute
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r. Richard E. Pratley, senior investigator at the AdventHealth Translational Research Institute, has been featured as the corresponding author of a newly published study in Nature Medicine, one of the world's leading medical journals. The publication highlights an important advance in obesity research, exploring a potential new approach to preserving lean muscle mass during weight loss with GLP-1-based therapy. As the corresponding author, Dr. Pratley led an international team of researchers investigating how the investigational therapy apitegromab may help patients retain more muscle while achieving significant weight loss with tirzepatide—an important consideration as obesity treatments continue to evolve.

In the phase 2 clinical trial, researchers found that participants receiving apitegromab alongside tirzepatide maintained substantially more lean body mass than those receiving tirzepatide alone, while achieving similar overall weight loss. Preserving muscle during weight loss has become an increasingly important focus in obesity medicine because lean muscle plays a critical role in strength, mobility, metabolism and long-term health. While additional research is needed, these findings represent an encouraging step toward improving not only how much weight patients lose, but the quality and composition of that weight loss.

Dr. Pratley's publication in Nature Medicine reflects AdventHealth Research Institute's ongoing commitment to advancing innovative, practice-changing research in diabetes, obesity and metabolic disease. Through collaborations with leading academic institutions and industry partners, AdventHealth researchers continue to help shape the future of medicine by translating scientific discovery into new possibilities for patient care.

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