Pillars Health Podcast

Retatrutide: Record Weight Loss Numbers, Real Caveats, and Why It's Not Available Yet

The phase three data on retatrutide is out, the health press is running wild with it, and our inbox is full of questions. So here's the real picture.

Eli Lilly's next obesity drug posted the largest weight loss numbers ever reported in a phase three trial — up to 28% body weight at 80 weeks, with a subgroup pushing past 30%. That's territory previously reserved for bariatric surgery. But retatrutide isn't just a stronger GLP-1. It's the first triple agonist — hitting GLP-1, GIP, and glucagon — which means you're not just eating less, you're also burning more. It even drives down LDL by roughly 20% through the PCSK9 pathway. *oof*

Dr. Mike breaks down what makes the mechanism genuinely elegant, what the fitness influencer hype gets wrong, and why the most impressive numbers in the press release aren't what the average person should expect.

And the question everyone's asking — can I get it? Short answer: no. It's not FDA approved, it can't be compounded, and what's floating around online is unregulated material of unknown purity. Mike is direct and clear about what that means and what to do instead.

Expected approval: late 2027 to early 2028. Keep working until then, because the Pillars of Health stuff still wins.

For more information on our practice, visit us at https://pillars.health/

Can a Blood Test Detect Alzheimer's Risk Decades Early?

New research out of The Lancet is asking a question that could reshape how we think about brain health: can a simple blood draw identify Alzheimer's-related changes in the brain during midlife — before a single symptom appears?

Dr. Mike breaks down the study, which tracked over 1,300 people and measured two proteins — amyloid and P-tau 217 — that are known to accumulate in the brain years, sometimes decades, before any cognitive decline shows up. The findings are genuinely interesting. They're also worth putting in careful context.

What does a positive result actually mean? Who should consider getting tested? And what can you do about it either way? Dr. Mike covers the science, the caveats, and why — whatever the biomarker says — the fundamentals are still doing quiet work long before we ever notice.

If you have a family history of Alzheimer's or know you carry the ApoE4 gene, this one is especially worth your time. And if you don't know your ApoE4 status, reach out — it's part of what we track at Pillars.

For more information on our practice, visit us at https://pillars.health/

Gene Editing for High Cholesterol — What the Headlines Aren't Telling You

A groundbreaking study just dropped in the New England Journal of Medicine, and it's already making waves in the New York Times. Dr. Mike breaks down the VERVE-102 trial — an experimental gene therapy that delivered up to a 62% reduction in LDL cholesterol from a single infusion, with results holding for over a year.

Mike walks through the elegant science behind how it works, why it's genuinely exciting, and — just as importantly — what the headlines are likely to gloss over. This is a Phase 1 trial of just 35 patients. It tells us about early safety, not whether it actually prevents heart attacks.

Full article: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2601283?query=featured_home

The bottom line? Fascinating early science with a long road ahead. And no gene therapy is coming for your sleep, your diet, or your exercise routine anytime soon.

For more information on our practice, visit us at https://pillars.health/