‘Fountain of youth!’ Miracle drug found to 'stop ageing process' in huge scientific breakthrough

It cuts the risk of death in overweight people with cardiovascular disease.

Wegovy is available through the NHS for weight loss but Ozempic is only prescribed to those with type two diabetes.

However, both contain the highly-regarded semaglitude medication.

Research published in JACC, the flagship journal of the American College of Cardiology, revealed semaglutide could have "far-reaching benefits beyond what we initially imagined".

Yale School of Medicine’s Professor Harlan M Krumholz said: "Is it a fountain of youth?"

He added: “I would say if you're improving someone's cardiometabolic health substantially, then you are putting them in a position to live longer and better.

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“It's not just avoiding heart attacks. These are health promoters.

“It wouldn't surprise me that improving people's health this way actually slows down the ageing process.”

The research also revealed participants who took semaglutide died at a lower rate from all causes, including cardiovascular causes and Covid-19.

Participants were aged 45 or older, overnight, had established cardiovascular disease but not diabetes.

The 17,604 participants were tracked for more than three years.

A total of 833 participants died during the study, with 58 per cent of the deaths related to cardiovascular causes and 42 per cent from others.

Infection, the most common cause of death beyond cardiovascular, occurred at a much lower rate in the group taking semaglutide rather than the placebo.

Semaglutide manages hunger and slows down digestion by mimicking the hormone glucagon-like peptide one.

It is also the active ingredient in the widely-regarded drug Ozempic.