A new study from Johns Hopkins Medicine has found that a drug once made to treat Alzheimer’s disease, schizophrenia, and sickle cell disease might also help people lose weight and improve their health.
What’s surprising is that this drug worked without the need to change diet or exercise habits.
Obesity is a serious health problem around the world. It increases the risk of heart disease, diabetes, liver problems, and other life-threatening illnesses. Even though many people try to lose weight with diet and ex…
The scientists looked at an enzyme called PDE9, which affects a molecule in the body called cyclic GMP. This molecule helps cells send signals and do their jobs properly.
PDE9 is similar to another enzyme called PDE5, which is the target of Viagra. Drugs that block PDE9 are still experimental and don’t have names yet, but they have been tested for conditions like Alzheimer’s and heart failure.
In earlier studies, the research team found that PDE9 plays a role in heart disease caused by high blood pressure. In this new study, they wondered if blocking PDE9 could help treat obesity and other health problems linked to it—like high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and high cholesterol.
To test this idea, they used mice and gave them a PDE9-blocking drug called PF-04447943, which was originally made by Pfizer for Alzheimer’s treatment. Although the drug didn’t work for Alzheimer’s, it was tested in humans and found to be safe, with no major side effects.
In the new study, the mice given this drug had big improvements in their health. They lost weight, had less fat in their liver, and their heart worked better. These results happened even though the mice kept eating the same food and did not move around more.
If the same effects happen in humans, the impact could be huge. For instance, a person who weighs 250 pounds might lose about 50 pounds just by taking the drug. And it might also help with serious health problems that come with obesity, such as heart disease and diabetes.
This drug could become a new way to treat obesity—especially for people who struggle to lose weight with diet and exercise alone. In the United States, more than 40% of adults are considered obese.
The number is even higher for women over 60, reaching 43%. These numbers show how urgent it is to find better ways to help people manage their weight and improve their health.
Although more studies are needed to test the drug in people, the results so far are very hopeful. Another similar PDE9 drug is already being tested for treating heart failure, showing that this group of medicines has real promise.
The study was led by Dr. David Kass and published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. It offers a new and exciting direction for tackling obesity and the many health problems linked to it.
If you care about weight loss, please read studies that hop extract could reduce belly fat in overweight people, and early time-restricted eating could help lose weight.
For more health information, please see recent studies that Mediterranean diet can reduce belly fat much better, and Keto diet could help control body weight and blood sugar in diabetes.
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