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Article Source: israel21c.orgHebrew University student Yaniv Linde has synthesized a peptide which could be turned into an anti-obesity drug.
A Hebrew University of Jerusalem doctoral student who has developed an innovative drug that gives people the feeling of satiety is one of three to win a Kaye Innovation Award, which will be presented at the Hebrew University's 70th Board of Governors meeting this week.
Yaniv Linde, a 32-year-old student of Prof. Chaim Gilon in the department of organic chemistry, mimicked the activity of the naturally occurring hormone called aMSH. This hormone is naturally excreted during eating and binds to a receptor in the brain called MC4R.
When this "communication" occurs on a substantial level, the brain sends out a signal that one feels "full." Linde and colleagues synthesized a peptide (a compound linking two or more amino acids) that can serve as an analog to the naturally occurring aMSH hormone. They were able to demonstrate that their peptide, which they call BL-3020, displayed good metabolic stability to intestinal enzymes when swallowed, and that it was able to cross the intestinal wall and gain access into the bloodstream. Once in the blood, it could make its way to the MC4R receptor and "close the circuit" to send out the "full" signal.
#1 - Fri Aug 27, 2010 5:36 AM EDTIf this drug does what it is expected to do, it could help many, many people get their excess weight off...it could be a lifesaver.
#2 - Fri Aug 27, 2010 5:37 AM EDTOf course, cocaine and amphetimines also depress appetite, so I wouldn't get TOO excited until all we know a bit more. Just because something mimics a natural hormone doesn't make it safe--remember the "hormone replacement therapy" that used to be given routinely at menopause until it was shown to increase the risk of cancer?
Things have progressed quite a bit since "hormone replacement therapy." I always take a wait and see approach. None the less, this is a promising study that may help many, many people, and for that, it is exciting news.
Bonnie, this smart student has been making a great discovery. Really!
He should name it Anti-Alzheimer's bulimia drug. (not meant honestly)
Y'know, people with 'Alzheimer's bulimia' always forget vomiting after eating, therefore getting obese. LOL
Here's a thought: diet, exercise, and consume the bulk of your daily calories at breakfast and lunch with just a light dinner, while eating nothing at all within three hours of going to bed. Avoid unnecessary drugs. Time after time, we've heard that THIS new wonder drug is safe, unlike everything that ever went before. There are no magical shortcuts to losing weight. It's highly unlikely there ever will be.
#5 - Sat Aug 28, 2010 12:36 AM EDTAfter many, many years of teaching aerobics and being a personal trainer, I know that diet, and exercise certainly is what people need in order to get healthy, but there are people who have serious problems who need help to get fat off in order to even begin to do anything as far as exercise.
Although "Biggest Loser" shows severely obese people exercising, it is an extremely dangerous thing for those who are not under direct doctor monitoring, and it is for those people I am happy something is being developed to help them lose weight.
If you can eat properly and stop when you are full, good for you. If you can exercise and are at your proper weight, again, good for you. But not everyone is able to do that...they need help. Unless you have walked several miles in someone else's shoes, you do not know what they are going through...so the usual spiel of eat right, exercise, blah, blah, blah is not helpful to those who really need extra help.
Kindness and compassion goes a long way...
I AM being kind. Encouraging people to put their faith into yet another pill is a very false kindness. Remember Meridian? I almost dying from that garbage--it didn't go well with the other meds I was taking, but neither the doctor nor the pharmacist caught it until I collapsed on the sidewalk. Remember all the other "wonder diet drugs" that have been developed? The same is true for psychiatric drugs--in THAT case, they may be absolutely essential for many people to be able to function, but virtually all still have severe side effects. In the case of obesity, there are nearly always better, safer alternatives. What about swimming as a safe exercise? What about a GRADUAL walking program? I have been severely obese (100 pounds over normal weight) but I was still able to walk for at least two miles a day, and eventually much more, because I worked my way into it gradually.
Time after time, we've heard that THIS new wonder drug is safe, unlike everything that ever went before. There are no magical shortcuts to losing weight. It's highly unlikely there ever will be.
In general I agree-- many "safe" drugs were later found to have side effects-- even being extremely dangerous. And there is a regrettable modern tendency to look to a pill rather than to take responsibility for ones' life...
However, for some people with severe problems, a safe drug may be a real life-saver.
I apologize. It seemed as if you were being condescending...it is hard to tell sometimes when you are talking to someone on a computer...
"IF" this medicine turns out to be something good, and not something harmful, then it will be a good thing. That is why I said that I always take a wait and see approach to everything.
Swimming is a good exercise, the problem is, not everyone has access to a place to swim, and most people who are obese are so totally humiliated, they won't step foot near a pool if they have to wear a bathing suit...
I am thinking about a group of young women who are so morbidly obese, they cannot even walk without assistance. They are in their twenties...I don't know what has happened that they have allowed themselves to get to that size, but I have seen them around town riding on motorized chairs (scooters). They cannot walk very far I don't think...their ankles are so huge that they roll over halfway down to their feet. It would be very painful I would think. If they were too walk, it wouldn't be far! It is for those people that I hope something comes of this discovery. They could get enough pounds off to be able to start walking, and then to put a suit on and get into the water...
Really surprised none of the tin-hat brigade have shown up with their theories of a Zionist plot to use this drug to take over the world, murder helpless Palestinians, etc. Almost disappointed, I could use the laugh.
#6 - Sat Aug 28, 2010 4:47 PM EDTLOL! No, I'm Jewish myself and I certainly wasn't thinking along those lines! But honestly, as someone with a family history of depression and other chronic problems, I've dealt with MANY "wonder drug" claims and I'm not a fan of Big Pharma. We are a grossly overdrugged society.
The most disgusting part is what is being done to small children, often against the will of the parents. Doctors and teachers can and do turn people into Child Protective Services for refusing to drug their children into zombies. What with the current crusade against childhood obesity, I fear the same will happen with diet drugs, which are almost surely dangerous for growing children. Childhood obesity wasn't a problem when I was growing up in the 1960s, even though most people's nutrition was horrible. Why? Maybe because we were chased outside and expected to play all day.
I change my mind. I don't want to try this. It's not for me. I researched it.
#7 - Sat Aug 28, 2010 5:35 PM EDTYou're in Easy Mode. If you prefer, you can use XHTML Mode instead. |
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