The Magic Molecule

by Lisa P | More from this Blogger

10 Feb 2008 06:20 AM

Wouldn't it be great if we could just shut off our body's need to eat?

Researchers from St Vincent's Hospital in Australia have some fantastic news for the obese. In recent experiments on mice, they have found a molecule that causes dramatic weight loss and its antidote that causes weight gain. In a word: they have found the holy grail of the overweight. (Insert bright light and singing angels here.)

Apparently, patients in advanced stages of cancer will lose interest in food and suffer from malnutrition. In researching this issue in order to eliminate malnutrition in cancer patients they've stumbled upon the magic molecule. The cancer patients that lose interest in food have been found to have high levels of a molecule known as MIC-1. I should mention that this is not a cancerous molecule.

When the scientists injected this molecule into both normal weight and obese mice, these mice lost interest in food, stopped eating and lost weight. When the antidote was administered to the same mice, they started eating again and put on weight.

The scientists who conducted this study are seeking commercial financial backing for clinical trials on human beings. If they can secure the financing, they could begin these clinical trials on humans in about three years.

While this discovery is very exciting for those who are overweight or obese, it could be many years before any treatment like this is available for humans. We should also remember that the weight loss the mice experienced was because they lost interest in food and just stopped eating. Granted there are many thin people out there who think that the overweight should "just stop eating" but that is neither easy nor healthy. If MIC-1 becomes a treatment for humans, it may make it easier to "just stop eating" but it will not eliminate the risks of malnutrition (which include osteoporosis).

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Learn more about Lisa P

Lisa used to be a freelance writer and Community Manager for Families.com, but she has finally made the jump to novelist.

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