Weight loss injection makes patients feel full- UK

By Patricia Reaney

LONDON (Reuters) – British scientists said on Monday they
had developed a new treatment that could help obese and
overweight people lose weight by making them feel full.

Researchers at Imperial College London believe the
treatment, an injection of a natural digestive hormone called
oxyntomodulin that is released in the small intestine, could
help to stem the world’s growing obesity epidemic.

“The discovery that oxyntomodulin can be effective in
reducing weight could be an important step in tackling the
rising levels of obesity in society,” said Professor Steve
Bloom, who headed the research team.

The injection switches off the appetite so people eat less.

In a four-week trial of 26 people, volunteers who were
given three injections of the treatment each day 30 minutes
before meals lost an average of 2.3 kilos (5 lb). A control
group that had dummy injections lost about half a kilo (1 lb).

Patients had no side effects from the treatment.

“It is just fooling the brain that you have already had
lunch by releasing the appetite hormone before you have
actually eaten,” Bloom explained in an interview.

EARLY DAYS

He and his colleagues, who reported their findings in the
journal Diabetes, said it was still early days and more
research needed to be done. But they have already set up a
company called Thiakis to develop the treatment, which they
hope will be available by prescription in about five years.

They initially envision it as a treatment for people who
are overweight or obese and have a medical problem. But once it
is established it could be rolled out more widely.

More than a billion adults worldwide are overweight and at
least 300 million of them are obese. By 2025 the number could
soar to 333 million, according to the World Health
Organization.

Being overweight or obese is calculated by using the body
mass index (BMI) — dividing weight in kilograms by height in
meters squared. A BMI of more than 25 is overweight. Above 30
is considered obese.

Excessive weight is a risk factor for diabetes,
cardiovascular disease, osteoarthritis and other illnesses.
Researchers have shown that treating obesity-related disorders
costs as much or more than treating illnesses caused by aging,
smoking and problem drinkers.

Bloom and his colleagues have developed a once-a-day
injection and are looking into delivering the treatment through
a nasal spray.

“When it comes to taking a pill with water or taking a
disposable syringe with a super-fine needle and pressing the
plunger, it really isn’t very difficult,” Bloom said.

Patients given the injection also had reduced levels of
leptin, a protein responsible for regulating the body’s energy
expenditure. They also had lower amount of adipose hormones
that encourage the build-up of adipose tissue — where fat
cells are stored in the body.