GLP-1 medicines lower inflammation.
One protein can't show which part.
In the SELECT trial, hs-CRP, a common blood marker of inflammation, fell by weeks 4 and 8, before major weight loss, and fell even in participants who did not lose weight.6
hs-CRP measures how much of one protein your liver releases. It shows that inflammation changed, but it wasn’t designed to show which parts of your inflammation system changed, or whether the signals that end a response are at work. The Inflammation Compass reads both: which genes your immune cells are using, from the signals that start a response to the signals that end it. It adds to the labs your prescriber orders and doesn’t replace them.
Three questions,
answered in order.
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Where is my inflammation today?
Your report shows six readings: three for the signals that start a response and three for the signals that end it. Your Bearing shows where each sits in this sample.
-
How does that compare with others?
Each reading is placed against a reference group, people whose blood was measured the same way: within its reference range, below it, above it, or at its edge. A result is a position, never a grade.
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What changes when something changes?
Your first sample starts your personal baseline. After you start therapy, change a dose, reach maintenance or taper, the next sample shows which readings moved and by how much. Two samples make a comparison, and three or more begin a trend.
Already on a GLP-1?
It isn't too late.
Your first sample becomes your baseline from that point on. It can’t show what changed before you gave it, so it won’t tell you what the medication has already done. It will show where you stand now, and later samples will show what moves from here, including after a dose change, a pause or a taper.
The off-ramp is a bigger moment
than the on-ramp.
Most people who start a GLP-1 medication stop or pause it at some point, and much of what changed on therapy can change again afterward.
Stopping is common
In a cohort of 125,474 adults with overweight or obesity, 64.8% of those without type 2 diabetes stopped GLP-1 therapy within 12 months, and 36.3% of those who stopped restarted within a year.1 Commercial claims data found three-year persistence among members without diabetes of about 8%.2
Much of the change can reverse
In the STEP 1 extension, participants regained two-thirds of lost weight within a year of stopping semaglutide; CRP rose partway back but stayed below baseline.3 In SURMOUNT-4, participants switched to placebo regained 14.0% of body weight over 52 weeks.4 Research on weight loss after surgery and diet found that fat tissue retains a memory of obesity; whether the same happens after GLP-1 withdrawal has not been tested.5
Samples before and after a taper
A sample at maintenance gives later samples a point of comparison. Samples 3–6 months after a clinician-guided taper or stop show which readings moved and which stayed about the same, alongside your weight and routine labs.
What it
can't tell you.
The Inflammation Compass shows what changed and by how much. It can’t show why, because many things move these readings, and it doesn’t show whether a medication is working or is safe. It doesn’t diagnose, rule out or predict any disease, measure drug levels, or predict weight loss.
What a change means is for you and your prescriber to weigh. Decisions about starting, adjusting or stopping a medication stay with your prescriber.
Read more
about GLP-1 therapy.
- Ozempic and Wegovy blood tests
The routine panels often ordered for semaglutide, from baseline through maintenance.
- GLP-1 biomarkers
What hs-CRP, blood counts and other routine markers measure, and what the six readings add.
- When to give a sample
A suggested cadence: a baseline, then samples around dose changes, maintenance or a taper.
- What RNA adds
How reading which genes your immune cells are using differs from a routine blood test.
- GLP-1 patient guide
How GLP-1 medications work, their benefits and trade-offs, and plateaus.
- GLP-1 science
The research on GLP-1 therapy and inflammation, with sources.
How it works
At-home blood collection, with no referral needed. From kit registration to your downloadable report:
Receive and register your kit
Your collection kit is shipped to you. Sign in to your dashboard using your email access code and register the kit ID when it arrives.
Complete consent and intake
Review and sign the consent forms, then complete your intake questionnaire before collection is arranged.
Arrange your blood collection
After consent and intake, request your preferred blood collection date and availability window in your dashboard. A phlebotomist contacts you to confirm the exact time, which will appear in your dashboard.
Laboratory analysis
A mobile phlebotomist collects your blood, and your sample is shipped to our CLIA-certified laboratory for RNA sequencing and transcriptomic analysis.
Download your report
Results are expected about one month after laboratory receipt. We’ll email you when your report is ready to download as a PDF from your dashboard.
Start with your baseline.
Your first sample starts your personal baseline, whether you're starting, adjusting or stopping GLP-1 therapy.
$389 per test, or $365 each when you order 4 or more. Mobile phlebotomy and shipping included.