Obesity has become one of the biggest health challenges in the world. Millions of people struggle to lose weight, even when they try to eat healthier foods and become more active. Severe obesity does not only affect body weight.
It also raises the risk of many serious health problems, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, and fatty liver disease. Because of these risks, scientists have been searching for better treatments for many years.
Now, researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine have made an exciting discovery. They found that a drug originally developed for entirely different diseases may also help people lose weight and improve their overall health. Even more surprising, the treatment seemed to work without requiring changes in diet or exercise.
The study was published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation and was led by Dr. David Kass.
The scientists focused on a substance in the body called an enzyme. Enzymes are special proteins that help control countless activities inside our cells. The enzyme in this study is known as PDE9, short for phosphodiesterase 9. PDE9 helps regulate another molecule called cyclic GMP, which plays important roles in many processes throughout the body.
Some people may have heard of another enzyme called PDE5. Drugs such as Viagra work by affecting PDE5. Researchers believe PDE9 may also influence important functions in the heart, liver, and metabolism.
At present, there are no PDE9 drugs approved for sale in pharmacies. However, scientists have been studying these drugs for years because they believe they may have medical uses in several conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease, schizophrenia, heart disease, and sickle cell disease.
Interest in PDE9 increased in 2015 when researchers discovered that this enzyme was present in the heart and appeared to make heart problems worse in people with high blood pressure. This finding led scientists to ask a new question. If PDE9 contributes to certain diseases, could blocking it improve health in other ways, including helping people with obesity?
To explore this possibility, the researchers studied a drug called PF-04447943. This medicine was originally developed by the pharmaceutical company Pfizer to treat Alzheimer’s disease.
Unfortunately, it did not work well enough for Alzheimer’s patients. However, the drug had already been tested in more than 100 people and appeared to be safe, with no major side effects reported.
Because the drug had shown a good safety profile, scientists decided to investigate whether it could have other benefits.
In the new study, researchers gave PF-04447943 to mice that were overweight and had health problems related to obesity. The results were unexpected and encouraging. Even though the mice did not eat less food and did not exercise more, they started losing weight.
The improvements did not stop there. The mice also developed healthier livers and showed better heart function. These findings suggest that the drug may help the body use and burn fat more effectively while also protecting important organs that are often damaged by obesity.
If similar effects are eventually seen in people, the impact could be enormous. The researchers suggested that a person weighing around 250 pounds could potentially lose about 50 pounds by taking the medication. In addition to weight loss, the treatment might also help reduce obesity-related damage to the heart and liver.
Obesity remains extremely common. In the United States, more than 40 percent of adults are considered obese. The rates are even higher among women over the age of 60. Many people spend years trying different diets and exercise programs without achieving lasting results.
A safe and effective pill that helps the body burn fat could offer a completely new treatment option for these individuals.
The researchers caution that the findings are still in the early stages. The study was performed in mice, not humans. More research and clinical trials will be necessary before doctors can know whether the treatment works equally well in people with obesity.
Still, there is reason for optimism. Another drug that works in a similar way is already being tested in people with heart failure. This means scientists are actively investigating this group of medicines and learning more about their potential benefits.
The study offers hope that a drug originally designed for other diseases may someday become an entirely new tool in the fight against obesity and its many health complications.
If you care about weight, please read studies about diet that can treat fatty liver disease, obesity, and hop extract could reduce belly fat in overweight people.
For more information about weight, please see recent studies about how to curb your cravings for ready-to-eat foods, and results showing what you can eat to speed your metabolism up.
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