Researchers say more tests need to be done before the discovery can be translated into a fat-busting drug for humans. (ABC News)
MELBOURNE (ABC News), April 29, 2008:
Melbourne medical researchers have made a discovery that promises a new slimmer future for the half of Australia's adult population classified as either overweight or obese. They say common blood pressure drugs could hold the key to treating obesity and diabetes. But the revolutionary weight loss drugs will not replace the need for exercise.
Like so many scientific discoveries, this one happened by chance.
The researchers from five Melbourne institutions were testing the effects of blood pressure drugs on mice. They compared normal mice with some lacking a gene that makes a hormone known as angiotensin-II, which is used to regulate blood pressure and water in the body. In the end these mice were slimmer than the regular mice; much slimmer.
Michael Mathai, a researcher at the Howard Florey Institute and the leader of the study, says the mice had a 20 per cent reduction in body weight and nearly 50 per cent reduction in body fat.
"The drugs we are talking about are powerful anti-hypertension drugs which are only available on prescription and they're called angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers," he said.
Hormone energy
The mice had the same diet and a similar amount of exercise but those without the hormone burned energy much more quickly.
"They get thinner because they have an increased metabolic rate, even at rest, and so we think that when you have an increased metabolic rate, you're burning more calories and this seems to be done in the liver," he said. "There is greater reduction in fat - that is excess calories that need to be stored as fat."
It is a discovery that is likely to bring a smile to the face of anybody battling a bulging waistline. But Mr Mathai says more tests need to be done before the discovery can be translated into a fat-busting drug for humans. He says it could be dangerous to use blood pressure drugs as diet pills just yet.
"Trials are being conducted in humans to look at their potential to prevent diabetes which can be associated with overweight and obesity," he said. "Those are properly conducted in clinical settings and I think we should wait for some of those trials to come through and see if we can get more data on their effect on body weight."
That translates to another three to five years before a treatment program might be available.
He says in the meantime, the best method for weight-loss remains eating well and exercising regularly.
© 2008 ABC
