Drug Kills Fat Cells in Obese Monkeys


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Obese monkeys saw their waistlines shrink in just weeks after scientists gave them an experimental drug that zaps fat cells, a study out today said, giving hope that such a pill for humans could be on the horizon.

A research team led by scientists at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center tested a group of overweight rhesus monkeys with a drug that selectively destroys the blood supply of fat tissue.

After just four weeks, the primates lost on average 11 percent of their body weight and the researchers measured drops in body mass index (BMI) and waistline, according to the study published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

The drug, known as Adipotide, attacks the blood supply of white adipose tissue, the unhealthy type of fat that accumulates under the skin and around the belly.

In the study, the drug achieved weight loss without the toxic side-effects as other treatments that aim to suppress appetite or increase metabolism, the researchers said.

The scientists observed that it had some damaging effects on the kidneys, which, they said, could be lessened by administering the drug in smaller doses.

"Development of this compound for human use would provide a non-surgical way to actually reduce accumulated white fat, in contrast to current weight-loss drugs that attempt to control appetite or prevent absorption of dietary fat," said co-senior author Renata Pasqualini.

And the drug could have benefits beyond the obvious cosmetic ones.

"Obesity is a major risk factor for developing cancer, roughly the equivalent of tobacco use, and both are potentially reversible" said another author Wadih Arap. "Obese cancer patients do worse in surgery, with radiation or on chemotherapy - worse by any measure."

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Or they could just eat less and/or do some exercise.

That works for some, but not all, people. Also, given the large usage of high-fructose corn syrup in almost every food on the market, they taste sweeter and we are predisposed to eat more of sweet things. If you're interested in weight loss, definitely check out the neuroscience behind caloric intake, or PM me and I'll try to explain.

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YAY adipose

Hello!.jpg

I expect a lot of the kidney damage is done by the body trying to get rid of the dead/dying fat cells so in smaller doses as it says in the article your body could handle it.

Even if this costs a lot money when it makes it to humans the savings in medical care would surely make it well worth taking?

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11% body weight in 4 weeks

So if I am 15st I could lose 1.5-1.6 stone in 4 weeks

I could do that if I stopped eating takeaways and sitting in front of the PC all day

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11% body weight in 4 weeks

So if I am 15st I could lose 1.5-1.6 stone in 4 weeks

I could do that if I stopped eating takeaways and sitting in front of the PC all day

Yeah but you could still do all that AND loose the weight :D

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Or they could just eat less and/or do some exercise.

It's not just eating less, it's eating the right kind of nutrition. The same applies to exercise. One's heart rate must be raised for a period no less than 15 minutes per day to maintain cardiovascular health.

All in all, it's not as simple as eating less and doing exercise.

Losing that amount of weight in weeks is not healthy. The skin isn't given enough time to adjust, thus in obese cases, this results in extreme sagging and excess folds of skin.

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Or they could just eat less and/or do some exercise.

Even so, there are situations where no amount of dieting and exercise will get rid of it. My wife put on a good bit of weight when she was pregnant with our sons, and she has been struggling for nearly 3 years to get it back off. She goes to the gym 3-4 times a week and eats healthy, but she simply can't get rid of some of that weight. Something like this would really help her if it worked. I have my doubts though. There have been several things like this over the years, and all of them either didn't work as well as researchers hoped or had serious long term health risks.

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One's heart rate must be raised for a period no less than 15 minutes per day to maintain cardiovascular health.

Does watching hair raising / scary movies count ? :D

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That works for some, but not all, people. Also, given the large usage of high-fructose corn syrup in almost every food on the market, they taste sweeter and we are predisposed to eat more of sweet things. If you're interested in weight loss, definitely check out the neuroscience behind caloric intake, or PM me and I'll try to explain.

HFCS is also terrible for the liver and waistline; it's harder in the US but you have to look for things that don't contain it.

I read labels, don't drink sodas, and do my best to eat a healthy diet. It's not easy but it's worth it. These drugs, in addition to being the "easy way out" that people are so fond of these days, often have terrible and dangerous side effects. No thanks, I'll stick to keeping as natural as possible.

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11% body weight in 4 weeks

So if I am 15st I could lose 1.5-1.6 stone in 4 weeks

I could do that if I stopped eating takeaways and sitting in front of the PC all day

I once lost 2 stone in 10 days .... I just stopped eating and had my water given to me intravenously

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