In a new study from The University of Texas at San Antonio, researchers successfully developed a drug that shows promise in fighting obesity and potentially preventing heart disease.
The new anti-obesity drug blocks the effects of cytochrome P450 8B1, the enzyme linked to cholesterol absorption and obesity.
The new drug has the potential to stop the activity of P450 8B1, the enzyme that creates cholic acid in the body. This inhibition, in turn, decreases cholesterol absorption.
This process may hold the key to treating obesity-associated metabolic disorders and other diseases linked to obesity, such as heart disease and diabetes.
The team’s research included treating mice with the inhibitor drug for seven days.
The result was a decrease in the levels of glucose in their blood—despite having been fed a high-fat and high-sucrose diet—without effects on their body weight.
The results showed how a P450 8B1 inhibitor could lead to a healthier metabolic profile and its potential could lead to developing a therapeutic strategy to treat obesity-associated insulin resistance.
The team’s mission is to develop solutions for complex challenges that will improve the health and well-being of society. Creating a drug effective in preventing obesity could improve the quality of life around the world.
According to the World Health Organization, 1.9 billion adults worldwide were overweight in 2016, and 650 million were classified as obese.
Closer to home, one in every four deaths in the U.S. is due to heart disease, of which obesity is a major contributor.
Locally, 71% of adults are overweight or obese, according to a recent report from the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District.
The new results show how research in synthetic chemistry can significantly contribute to the well-being of society by treating obesity and heart disease.
If you care about heart health, please read studies about a big cause of heart failure, and findings of vitamin K that could cut heart disease risk by a third.
For more information about heart health, please see recent studies about COVID-19 vaccine that can support heart health, and results showing that simple activities like washing dishes could cut heart disease risk.
The study is published in Steroids and was conducted by Francis Yoshimoto et al.
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