Scientists are one step closer to developing the holy grail of weight-loss drugs: a pill that makes users lose weight without dieting or exercising.
They have tested an early version of the treatment, currently as an injectable, in mice given a junk food plan that mimicked the worst of Western diets.
The mice that received the injection did not gain weight even though they ate foods high in fat, sugar and calories, while the risk of health problems related to a poor diet was also reduced.
The drug’s makers, at the University of Texas, told DailyMail.com today that they are developing a pill version of the drug and hope to start human trials this year.
Scientists say they may have developed a drug that could help you lose weight via injection.
The drug, called CPACC, is a small molecule that works by inhibiting magnesium uptake by mitochondria in cells.
The team is now seeking to patent the drug, but warns it could still be years before it hits pharmacies.
Dr. Madesh Muniswamy, a cardiologist at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio who led the research, told DailyMail.com: “Our next step is to do some pharmacokinetics before the human pilot studies.”
‘We didn’t see any adverse effects. In particular, liver and heart functions were normal after twice weekly administration of the drug by injection.
We are looking for volunteers and private funding to carry out such trials. But this will be in the next six months to a year.
Mice consuming a high-fat Western diet were given the “wonder drug” once every three days for six weeks.
In addition to maintaining their weight, the researchers also suggested that the mice may have a lower risk of heart disease, stroke, and fatty liver disease.
They said this was because the drug was preventing obesity, which is a key risk factor for these conditions.
Mitochondria are the powerhouses of cells and work by producing energy to power their chemical reaction.
A key part of this process is magnesium, which helps reduce damage to mitochondria and boost their energy-producing reactions.
But the researchers say that when there’s too much of the element in cells, it can actually “slow down” energy production.
To test whether lowering mitochondrial magnesium levels can cause weight loss, the researchers initially edited genes in mice to make it more difficult for mitochondria to absorb magnesium.
They found that even when the modified mice were fed a high-fat Western diet, they remained lean.
To mimic this result, the researchers designed a drug that could block magnesium uptake by mitochondria.
In the latest study, published in cell reportsThe mice were fed either a high-fat Western diet, made up of 40 percent fat, or a chow diet, made up of 17 percent fat.
After 20 weeks on the diet, the mice were given either the drug or a placebo.
These were administered every three days for a further six weeks.
The results showed that the mice that received the injections did not gain weight even on the high-fat Western diet.
Dr. Muniswamy said that reducing the amount of magnesium in the mitochondria had taken the brakes off.
This meant they were able to make and therefore burn more energy, helping people avoid weight gain.
We are looking for volunteers and private funding to conduct such trials. But this will be in the next six months to a year.
They all become skinny.
He added: ‘A drug that can reduce the risk of cardiometabolic diseases such as heart attack and stroke, and also reduce the incidence of liver cancer, which can follow fatty liver disease, will have a big impact.
‘We will continue its development.’
