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Comment by 9x39 | Hacker News Reader

Because our bodies are delicate systems of networks, and inputs in one area can have complex/unpredictable outputs elsewhere, it seems.

Typically, if something "works", there often appear to be side effects. A free lunch is rare.

https://www.uclahealth.org/news/article/understanding-medica...

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> Typically, if something "works", there often appear to be side effects

Unless it’s literally a deficit. There isn’t a downside to treating vitamin C deficiency with vitamin C.

The fact that GLP-1 seems to have roles not just in satiety but that agonists seem to reduce other types of impulsiveness (e.g. gambling, shopping) is interesting. That's not something you'd predict as a consequence, and perhaps is downstream of some gut-brain connection.

Of course we already manipulate brain chemistry in other more direct ways with antidepressants so perhaps any unwanted second-order effects could be minor in comparison to the profile of existing antidepressants .

Yeah, that's a good point. I hadn't heard about impulsiveness. I had read that taste preferences changed - e.g., salty, sweet, savory, fatty:

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7105351/

I've been watching developments on how GLP1s seem to go beyond just hunger/insulin response, even how they may affect symptoms of polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), which is difficult on women who have it:

https://academic.oup.com/ejendo/article/194/3/S25/8488941

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