Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by martyb on Saturday June 13 2020, @09:37AM   Printer-friendly
from the losing-is-winning dept.

Virginia Tech drug researcher develops 'fat burning' molecule that has implications for treatment of obesity (Science Daily)

"Obesity is the biggest health problem in the United States. But, it is hard for people to lose weight and keep it off; being on a diet can be so difficult. So, a pharmacological approach, or a drug, could help out and would be beneficial for all of society," said Webster Santos, professor of chemistry and the Cliff and Agnes Lilly Faculty Fellow of Drug Discovery in the College of Science at Virginia Tech.

Santos and his colleagues have recently identified a small mitochondrial uncoupler, named BAM15, that decreases the body fat mass of mice without affecting food intake and muscle mass or increasing body temperature. Additionally, the molecule decreases insulin resistance and has beneficial effects on oxidative stress and inflammation.

The findings, published in Nature Communications on May 14, 2020, hold promise for future treatment and prevention of obesity, diabetes, and especially nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), a type of fatty liver disease that is characterized by inflammation and fat accumulation in the liver. In the next few years, the condition is expected to become the leading cause of liver transplants in the United States.

Mitochondrial uncoupler BAM15 reverses diet-induced obesity and insulin resistance in mice (open, DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-16298-2) (DX)

Mitochondrial uncoupler BAM15 inhibits artery constriction and potently activates AMPK in vascular smooth muscle cells (open, DOI: 10.1016/j.apsb.2018.07.010) (DX)

BAM15‐mediated mitochondrial uncoupling protects against obesity and improves glycemic control (open, DOI: 10.15252/emmm.202012088) (DX)


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 5, Informative) by edinlinux on Saturday June 13 2020, @04:42PM (1 child)

    by edinlinux (4637) on Saturday June 13 2020, @04:42PM (#1007472)

    Decouplers have been around for a long time. One with a storied history is called "DNP". Its been around for decades.

    And yes, they actually do make you lose weight (probably the only compound we know so far that works).

    In appropriate quantity, they work, but the problem is, if you accidently ingest too much, your body goes into decouple overdrive (think a diesel engine runaway), you feel sick then slowly die about 4 hours later... there is no antidote once it starts, just you know you will be gone a few hours later.

    But if you don't take too much, yes it works great apparently, and some bodybuilders / dieters some gym freaks use it to get fit and trim.

    There is a storied history about it at this newspaper article (TLDR, amazing when it works, but highly risky if over ingested, do not use..)

    https://www.theguardian.com/science/the-h-word/2014/feb/06/dnp-deadly-weight-loss-drug-science-history [theguardian.com]

    Starting Score:    1  point
    Moderation   +3  
       Interesting=1, Informative=2, Total=3
    Extra 'Informative' Modifier   0  
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   5  
  • (Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Saturday June 13 2020, @07:16PM

    by Azuma Hazuki (5086) on Saturday June 13 2020, @07:16PM (#1007521) Journal

    I was going to mention dinitrophenol, but you beat me to it. Yeah, hearing "mitochondrial uncoupler" made me wince...

    --
    I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...