Allergy meds slim down obese mice

Science News ^ | July 27th, 2009 | Jenny Lauren Lee

[neverdem]

Animal study shows over-the-counter medications lower weight and treat type 2 diabetes

Over-the-counter allergy medications turn obese, diabetic mice into healthy, normal-weight mice, researchers report.

The new research focuses on mast cells, immune system players critical to the inflammatory response involved in allergies.

The study appears along with three other independent studies in the July 26 online Nature Medicine that show a connection between type 2 diabetes and the immune system.

“Certainly the study is very exciting,” says George King of Harvard University’s Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston, who was not involved in the research. “It’s the first type to identify mast cells as having a potential role in developing obesity.”

Researchers from Harvard and their colleagues found that the inflammatory mast cells are as much as six times more abundant in the fat tissue of obese and diabetic humans and mice than in the fat tissue of normal-weight humans and mice.

Under certain conditions (such as when a person with allergies inhales pollen), these mast cells leak inflammation-inducing molecules “like a trash bag with holes in it,” says Guo-Ping Shi, a coauthor of the study on mast cells. Anti-inflammatory drugs, such as those used in anti-allergy eye drops and nasal sprays, reduce allergic symptoms by stabilizing the mast cells, effectively putting an extra trash bag around the leaky one so inflammatory molecules can’t be released. Shi says the team was curious about whether pre-existing medicines that stabilize mast cells might also alleviate the symptoms of diabetes.

For two months, obese, diabetic mice were given one of four regimens: one group continued to eat a high-fat diet; another group was switched to healthier chow; a third stayed on the high-fat diet and was given daily injections of either Zaditor or cromolyn, two common over-the-counter allergy medications that stabilize mast cells...

[neverdem]

In these new reports, three different research groups independently find that various T cell populations are crucial mediators of obesity-induced metabolic dysfunction. They also show that pharmacological approaches that target these T cells are beneficial, thus opening the door to possible new therapeutic approaches to treating obesity-related diseases such as diabetes. - Nature Medicine Advance online publication summary statement

Lean, but not obese, fat is enriched for a unique population of regulatory T cells that affect metabolic parameters

CD8+ effector T cells contribute to macrophage recruitment and adipose tissue inflammation in obesity

Normalization of obesity-associated insulin resistance through immunotherapy

[buccaneer81]

I wonder if it’s increased metabolic rate. Allergy meds often raise blood pressure.

[Dustbunny]

Bump for reading tomorrow.

[neverdem]

FReepmail me if you want on or off the diabetes ping list.

There's some more discussion of that mast cell study, and more citations about the immunology in comment# 1.

[steve86]

Allergy meds often raise blood pressure.

I know they can speed up heart rate, but that's the decongestant part (if combined), not the antihistamine. Didn't know about the blood pressure.

[Kevmo]

Maybe obesity is just some kind of allergy

[Pining_4_TX]

It is the decongestant present in many allergy meds that cause an increase in blood pressure and make some people lose their appetite. Never worked for me, or I would take a Sudafed every day!

The antihistamine part of allergy meds (bendaryl, claritin, allegra, zyrtec) have no effect on appetite, weight, or blood pressure, as far as I know.

One of the possible side effects of the allergy drug Tavist is increased appetite and weight gain. This is a little curious, since a freeper comment on another post about this subject thought the active ingredient in Tavist (clemastine fumarate) was chemically related to the 2 mentioned in this article.

Of course, in this study these drugs were injected, not taken orally, so that makes a huge difference. One of these drugs is present in OTC allergy eye drops (Alaway) and the other is present in an allergy nasal spray (Nasalcrom). I guess you would have to snort a lot of Nasalcrom to get any weight loss effect, though. ;-)

[buccaneer81]

Didn't know about the blood pressure.

Yep. I take three blood pressure meds which work great. But my MD said no OTC allergy meds, especially no pseudoephedrine.

[Rudder]

It’s antihistamine. Zaditor is ketotifen fumarate, in an opthalmic solution.

[luckystarmom]

Decongestants can lower an epileptics threshold for seizures, and are a medication that epileptics are not supposed to take.

[trailboss800]

Ping

[GOP Poet]

I have been using nasal sprays twice a day for years. I have not noticed that it has impacted my weight at all. DIet and exercise does however. I think these findings are more important regarding the discovery of mast cells and obesity at least in the short run.

[GOP Poet]

Isn’t that just the irony of medications. For example one is prescribed for headaches and on the warning packaging it warns that it causes headaches. LOL. KA-RA-ZY! Can’t envision Nancy Pelosi and her cronnies getting their hands on medicine that is for sure! It is all so whacked already.

[MHGinTN]

Ping-a-ling-a-ling

[ghostcat]

Yep, I’m just allergic to food.....Everything I eat makes me swell up...................

[Taffini]

fat girl bump

[Kevmo]

I’d go into detox but the withdrawal symptoms are terrible.

[metmom]

I read a book on allergies written by some doctors some years ago, and they even associated weight gain with allergies. The book is certainly outdated by now because of the tremendous number of advances in immunology, but it was fascinating reading.

I can think of some people to pass this on to....

[trisham]

Interesting.

[Pining_4_TX]

Yes, I knew that but my OBS (old brain syndrome) kept me from remembering the name of the drug when I was typing my comment. ;-)