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American scientists have tested the effectiveness of a new drug against obesity in rats. In addition to drastically reducing what they ate, the treatment had few side effects. The opinion of Dr Guillaume Pourcher, head of the obesity disease management center at the Institut mutualiste Montsouris in Paris
Obesity, which is a complex multifactorial disease, affects more and more people around the world. In an attempt to find a treatment against this scourge, American scientists have developed a molecule, currently being tested in rats. Their results were presented at a meeting of the American Chemical Society.
A treatment that “mimics” the effects of bariatric surgery
A research team led by Robert Doyle, a professor of chemistry at Syracuse University in New York, and Dr. Christian Roth, a physician specializing in endocrinology and diabetes at Seattle Children’s Hospital, created treatment for obesity.
The mechanism of this molecule would act in the same way as bariatric surgery, avoiding the operation for obese people, explain the researchers.
In fact, the molecule tested, called GEP-44, activates the intestinal secretion of certain hormones such as the GLP-1 peptide of glucagon and the YY peptide, which make it possible to feel the feeling of satiety, curb appetite and normalize blood sugar.
Very promising results
To test its effectiveness, the researchers administered it to rats, by injections several times a week. Results: the rodents ate up to 80% less than their usual ration. In 16 days, they had lost 12% of their weight. Three times the amount lost by rats on liraglutide, an injected drug that activates only the GLP-1 receptor and is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration against obesity.
In addition, the new molecule would generate less nausea and vomiting, side effects found when taking this type of treatment. Finally, this test molecule has a half-life in the body of only about an hour, but the experts have developed a model with a much longer half-life, which would allow it to be injected only once in twice a week instead of several times a day.
Modified biological parameters in rodents
At the end of this study, researchers noticed that rats treated with this next-generation compound retain their new, leaner physique even after treatment ends, which is often not the case with drugs currently on the market. for which the weight is regained shortly after stopping.
Another surprising finding: the blood sugar levels of rodents were lowered, according to the scientists’ observations. But that’s not all. In parallel with the decrease in food, and therefore energy intake for these rats, the researchers noticed that they showed an increase in their movements, their heart rate and their body temperature. Although the research is in its early stages, researchers believe the experimental drug has potential.
NO to diets, YES to WW!
Research will continue, in the primate
The researchers have already filed patents and plan to continue their research on primates. “For a long time we didn’t think it was possible to separate weight reduction from nausea and vomiting, because they are linked to the exact same part of the brain.“explains Professor Doyle.
But scientists have now dissociated these two pathways, which opens up a way to relieve chemotherapy patients, who also cause these types of side effects. “What if we could maintain the benefits of chemotherapy drugs, but tell the part of the brain that causes vomiting and nausea to eliminate them? Then we could dose patients at a higher level, so they have a better prognosis and also have a better quality of life while undergoing chemotherapy“says the researcher.
The opinion of Dr Guillaume Pourcher, head of the obesity care center at the Institut mutualiste Montsouris in Paris
“We must remain cautious, because this molecule is currently being tested in rats. This means that several years will pass before we can imagine a development in humans. It is nevertheless an interesting track but for the moment, in the management of obesity, current drugs do not replace surgery. The operation is an unfortunately invasive treatment, but it can influence various mechanisms responsible for obesity, which is a multifactorial disease. Drug treatments, on the other hand, only have one course of action and very often, when they are stopped – generally because of their side effects or their high cost – the person regains weight.“.