Hormone Combination Effective and Safe for Treating Obesity in Mice

ScienceDaily ^ | Nov. 13, 2012 | NA

[neverdem]

Scientists at Indiana University and international collaborators have found a way to link two hormones into a single molecule, producing a more effective therapy with fewer side effects for potential use as treatment for obesity and related medical conditions.

The studies were carried out in the laboratories of Richard DiMarchi, the Standiford H. Cox Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and the Linda & Jack Gill Chair in Biomolecular Sciences in the IU Bloomington College of Arts and Sciences, and of Matthias Tschöp, professor of medicine and director of the Institute of Diabetes and Obesity, Helmholtz Center Munich, Germany.

Results were published online this week by the journal Nature Medicine.

Researchers combined a peptide hormone from the digestive system, GLP-1, with the hormone estrogen and administered it to obese laboratory mice. While both GLP-1 and estrogen have demonstrated efficacy as therapy for obesity and adult-onset diabetes, the combination was more effective in producing weight loss and other beneficial results than using either compound on its own. And it produced fewer adverse effects, such as excessive tissue growth linked to tumor formation.

"We find that combining the hormones as a single molecule dramatically enhanced their efficacy and their safety," DiMarchi said. "The combination improves the ability to lower body weight and the ability to manage glucose, and it does so without showing the hallmark toxicities associated with estrogen."

The researchers believe GLP-1 acts as a "medicinal chaperone," targeting estrogen to the hypothalamus and pancreas, which are involved with metabolic processes. The precise targeting reduces the likelihood that the estrogen will produce negative effects, such as cancer and stroke.

Brian Finan, a former doctoral student in DiMarchi's lab, is the lead author of the paper, "Targeted estrogen delivery reverses the metabolic syndrome." Co-authors include Bin Yang and Vasily Gelfanov, research scientists in the IU...

[itsahoot]

Qsymia

Worth a look I guess. I know of a nurse that has taken Topomax for years as an appetite suppressant.

I was a kid that could eat a dozen eggs and half a loaf of bread for breakfast when I was in he army. Never weighed more than 120lbs, got out of the service for a year and had a doctor talk me into having my tonsils removed, never skinny again.

Just a thought, no claim of association.

Healed up and went in the Navy to see the world.

I am however twice the man I was when I joined up weighing in at 107 lbs, true story.

[Aurorales]

I was on Topomax for 1 week. Anxiety problems. Not for appetite.

Long story short, I was a complete idiot on it. My brain moved so slow... couldn’t remember names or even common words. It was like my brain was full of sludge.

I went back to Doc and told him about my experience. He said it was quite common. Said many of his patients who used it called it “Dopamax”.

No thanks. I would rather be chubby than be an idiot.

But I appreciate the response.

There is another diet pill that also was approved at the same time as the topomax mix. Can’t remember the name... starts with a “B”.
My regular Doc said he had two patients who were involved in the trials and both loved it. One of them bought stock in the pharm company because he thinks he will make a bundle.
It hasn’t hit the pharmacies yet.. they are still trying to figure out what class of drug it will be.

Doc said it has way fewer side effects in the trials than the Qysimia.

[Aurorales]

Belviq is the name of the other prescription med just approved.

[neverdem]

“It’s been 6 years that I lost 80 pounds and have gained 15 back in that time. Every day is a living hell on earth in struggling with hunger. It **never** goes away. Not even when I sleep because my dreams are filled with food.

“If there is food and hunger issues in heaven I am leaving. Hell couldn’t be worse.

“Then in my mid-thirties I became hypothyroid. Yeah, when I was 42 the thyroid problem was fixed but since then weight control and hunger has been a living hell.”

Could it be that you’re taking too much of whatever thyroid hormone replacement therapy? Maybe the dose can be adjusted. Have you seen an endocrinologist? Talk to your doc.

[wintertime]

Believe me the doctor and I have tried varying the levels of levothyroxine.

Thyroid level is fine. High or low levels it doesn’t matter. The hunger is the same.

[Pining_4_TX]

I feel your pain. I have been overweight for most of my adult life. About 10 years ago, I lost a lot of weight by following a 1500 calorie a day diet and walking about an hour almost every day.

The result? I was depressed and had trouble controlling my tongue. Consequently, I said some really hurtful things to people I love, and was generally going nuts. I was constantly hungry and went to bed every night listening to my stomach growl. And I was still in the overweight range according to the charts! I also developed anemia.

Of course, this could not go on forever, and I regained all the weight I had lost plus a little more. Now, if I even think about a diet, I get depressed and I rarely can last more than a day or two with restricted eating. Yes, I’ve tried them all. Cutting carbs drastically produced less hunger, but it is almost impossible to stick to in the long term (like all diets).

I would encourage you to find a copy of an old book, The Dieter’s Dilemma: Eating Less and Weighing More, and I would also encourage you to look at the Health at Every Size option. You will weigh more, but you just might be healthier in the long run. Also, read some of the articles at this site http://www.junkfoodscience.blogspot.com/

BTW, the latest study to stun conventional wisdom showed that losing weight did not produce any benefits to type 2 diabetics in terms of cardiovascular events. It did lower their numbers, but that’s all. Check out the books by Nortin Hadler, MD.