Oxyntomodulin - Gut hormone aids weight loss
Injections of a gut hormone which switches off appetite helps overweight people lose pounds, a study has found.
A team from Imperial College say the four-week trial suggested oxyntomodulin - naturally found in the intestine - could be a new way of tackling obesity. Oxyntomodulin is normally released from the small intestine as food is consumed. It tells the brain not to eat any more at the end of a meal when the body has had enough to eat.
The team looked at 26 people who were all overweight or obese. Fourteen injected themselves with oxyntomodulin 30 minutes before each meal, three times a day, for four weeks. Twelve administered saline at the same frequency for the same period. Neither doctors nor patients knew which group they were in during the study.
In addition to seeing greater weight loss, the group taking oxyntomodulin also had a reduced appetite, but they saw no change in their enjoyment of food. Levels of leptin, a protein known to be responsible for regulating the body’s energy expenditure, and adipose hormones, which encourage the build up of a type of tissue where fat cells are stored, were also found to be lower in the group having hormone injections.
Professor Steve Bloom, senior researcher at Imperial College London and Hammersmith Hospital, who led the study, told the BBC: “We saw a dramatic rate of weight loss.” He said the fact that it was natural gave oxyntomodulin an advantage over other treatments.
Professor Bloom, who has set up a company in order to continue developing the treatment, added: “You have your own oxyntomodulin every time you eat lunch or supper, so it’s not quite like a drug.
“I would anticipate it being completely safe and also, since you have your own oxyntomodulin, it isn’t likely to ever stop working.”
Reference - BBC News
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August 25th, 2005 at 3:08 pm
Very promising discovery.
Obesity has many harmful effects.
Is there any known way to naturally increase the body’s level of oxyntomodulin?
Have human trials begun?
Is there any way to buy oxyntomodulin?
wayne
August 26th, 2005 at 8:27 am
The best method to naturally increase body levels of oxyntomodulin is probably to drink plenty of water. (this is not proven by any studies but the rationale behind the action of oxyntomodulin suggests that its level may increase after water intake - it makes you feel full and decreases appetite).
As mentioned in the article the hormone was tested on humans and their efficacy established thereafter.
I am not sure whether more human studies are going on or not. I have not come across other research papers who have corroborated or refuted the findings.
Any drug which is experimental takes a number of years to hit them market. So it may take a long time before we see oxyntomodulin injections in the pharmacy.
October 8th, 2007 at 5:20 am
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