October 28, 2025

The Story Behind the ‘Miracle’ of GLP-1 Medications: Dr. John Buse, Chief of Endocrinology at University of North Carolina School of Medicine

31 minutes

“It’s kind of a miracle, frankly,” says Dr. John Buse, a distinguished professor at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, referring to the effectiveness of GLP-1 receptor agonist medications such as Ozempic in treating type 2 diabetes, promoting significant weight loss, and reducing cardiovascular risk. As a physician scientist for the last three decades at UNC, Dr. Buse has played a key role in ushering in this new era of diabetes care, leading or participating in over 200 clinical studies on this class of drugs and others. “Nothing has impacted diabetes care like the GLP-1 receptor agonists. I have lots of patients whose diabetes was never well controlled who have seen all their metabolic problems essentially resolved.” In this fascinating conversation with Raise the Line host Lindsey Smith, Dr. Buse not only explains how these drugs work, but also provides a clear-eyed look at side effects, and addresses issues of cost and access. Join us for the remarkable story – including the role played by Gila monsters -- behind one of the biggest developments in medicine over the past several years from a world renowned diabetes researcher and clinician.

Mentioned in this episode:

UNC School of Medicine

If you like this podcast, please share it on your social channels. You can also subscribe to the series and check out all of our episodes at www.osmosis.org/podcast

...more

View all episodes

By Osmosis from Elsevier

4.9