AI and the World's Hard Problems · Medicine & drug discovery · ScienceDaily (AI) · 2026-10-22
People are taking an unapproved weight-loss drug. AI found something surprising
An experimental weight-loss drug, retatrutide, has not yet received regulatory approval, but people are obtaining unapproved versions and discussing their experiences online. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania used AI to analyze nearly 150,000 Reddit posts and comments from about 40,000 users, and among users whose symptoms could be classified, increased appetite was the most common complaint — unexpected for a drug designed to suppress hunger, since its Phase 2 trials mainly identified digestive problems. The findings differ from clinical trial results and suggest AI could help identify potential drug safety signals that warrant further investigation.