In a surprising twist, a drug normally used to fight tumors might help with weight loss.
This is what scientists from Northwest A&F University in China found out in their latest study.
The drug, called camptothecin, reduced food intake and body weight in overweight mice.
But before we get into the details, let’s take a step back and understand the basics.
The Star of the Study: GDF15
The hormone named GDF15 plays a central role in this story.
We know from previous studies that when there’s more GDF15 in the body, it leads to weight loss. On the other hand, when GDF15 levels are low, it can lead to obesity.
The Power of Camptothecin
To find a way to increase GDF15, the researchers looked at a database of how human cells react to different drugs. They noticed something interesting: When cells were exposed to camptothecin, they produced more GDF15.
This discovery about camptothecin is fascinating. This drug comes from an Asian tree and is typically used as an anti-tumor drug because it stops a DNA repair enzyme.
The Experiment and its Results
The scientists then tested camptothecin on obese mice. They found that giving this drug to the mice increased their GDF15 levels and caused them to eat about 12% less food.
Over 30 days, the mice lost about 11% of their body weight. But this didn’t happen with lean mice.
It seems like the weight loss was specifically due to the increase in GDF15 and its effect on a receptor called GFRAL. When the researchers blocked GDF15 or GFRAL, the mice didn’t lose weight.
What Does this Mean for Us?
This study is very promising, but we need to be careful. While camptothecin was studied for anti-cancer treatments, it was eventually set aside because of safety worries. We still need to find out if it’s safe to use for weight loss.
However, the dose used in this weight loss study is much smaller than what’s used in cancer treatments. Also, the way the drug works for weight loss seems to be different from how it works for cancer treatments.
“We think that camptothecin could potentially help with obesity and related health issues,” says Jiang Wei Wu, one of the scientists. “But we still need to do more research to see if it’s safe and effective in more advanced models.”
To sum it up, this study adds a fascinating twist to the weight loss story. Who would have thought an anti-cancer drug might help with weight loss?
The path to weight loss is complex, but with more research, we might have a new tool in our toolkit.
If you care about weight loss, please read studies that avocado could help you lose weight and belly fat, and a keto diet for weight loss can cause flu-like symptoms.
For more information about nutrition, please see recent studies about unhealthy plant-based diets linked to metabolic syndrome, and these antioxidants could help reduce dementia risk.
The study was published in PLoS Biology.
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