A new drug, tested on rats, may potentially treat obesity without surgery or the side effects of current medications, according to research presented at the spring meeting of the American Chemical Society. The experimental drug, liraglutide, reduced the amount of food consumed by rats by up to 80% and lowered their blood sugar levels. The rats also showed increased movement, heart rate, and body temperature. The medication, injected a few times a week, kept the weight off and converted some cells in the pancreas into insulin-producing cells. The researchers noted that the drug may be better tolerated than currently available drugs that can cause nausea and vomiting. However, the results are still in the early stages, and it will take some years before human trials begin.
The researchers filed for a patent and plan to test the drug in primates. The scientists also observed that the medication reduced cravings for opioids such as fentanyl, which may help people addicted to opioids quit or fend off relapses. Overweight and obesity are chronic, common conditions in the United States, linked to heart disease, diabetes, and cancer, among other health problems. The causes of obesity include eating patterns, lack of sleep, lack of physical activity, some medications, genetics, and family history. Three-fourths of adults in the US older than age 20 have either overweight or obesity, and about 20% of children between ages 2 and 19 years have obesity. Medical professionals use body mass index (BMI) to screen for overweight and obesity.
Dr. Mir Ali, bariatric surgeon and medical director of MemorialCare Surgical Weight Loss Center at Orange Coast Medical Center, pointed out a few concerns about the early research. First, the results are only preliminary in a rodent model, and it will take some years before human trials begin. Second, side effects are not necessarily the only reason patients stop medication; cost is a significant factor in many of these medications. Lastly, most studies have shown that when a patient stops a weight loss medication, they regain significant weight. Surgery, by far, has significantly more effective long-term outcomes. Dr. Minisha Sood, an endocrinologist at Lenox Hill Hospital, called the drug a "promising new development in the treatment of obesity" and said that "activating brain regions that might have a profound appetite suppressant effect" would be another option in persons with obesity and upregulated appetite centers in the brain, especially those who do not respond to diabetes medications alone.