Tangent
Ranganath Muniyappa, a senior clinician at the National Institutes of Health, requested the drug to treat a patient for refractory obesity with obstructive sleep apnea and pulmonary hypertension, STAT reported, noting it inquired whether Trump has those conditions. Pulmonary hypertension can be life-threatening. Desai referred STAT to a White House memo on Trump’s most recent medical evaluation that did not contain any mentions of obstructive sleep apnea or pulmonary hypertension.
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Big Number
18. That is how many bioethics experts, obesity clinicians, and current and former government health officials STAT interviewed for its report, which noted the sources said the application was unusual and questioned why Eli Lilly would give drug access to a single patient for obesity under the compassionate use program. Compassionate use programs are often conducted through large groups of patients, STAT reported.
Key Background
If Trump was the patient in question, his access to the weight loss drug would not be unprecedented. The president was one of the first people to receive the experimental Regeneron COVID-19 treatment after he contracted the virus in 2020. Trump told The New York Times earlier this year he had not taken GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy and Ozempic but said, “I probably should.” Trump’s latest physical exam revealed the president weighed 238 pounds, a 14-pound increase from April 2025 that nearly reached the threshold of clinical obesity. Trump’s health has been under increased scrutiny as he turned 80 this year and has been frequently seen with swollen ankles and bruises on his hands.
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Further Reading
Trump Says His Physical Went ‘PERFECTLY’ Amid Speculation Over Bruised Hands And Swollen Legs (Forbes)
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