Move over, Ozempic and Wegovy. Weight-loss drugs that are in high demand might lose their popularity if a new product that kept mice skinny even on a high-fat Western diet proves successful in human trials.
A recent study revealed that a revolutionary weight-loss drug helped rodents remain slim even when they were fed the equivalent of a high-fat, high-sugar diet. Researchers at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio discovered that a "game-changing" drug called CPACC wards off weight gain in mice by increasing the body's metabolism to help it break down fats and sugars more efficiently.
According to The U.S. Sun, experts hope the pill will be another weapon in the battle against obesity, allowing people to eat what they want without worrying about added health risks or not fitting into their jeans. The drug inhibits how magnesium flows through the mitochondria, the part of the cell responsible for producing energy and burning calories.
Too much magnesium in the cell slows the mitochondria's ability to produce energy but deleting the protein-code gene, called MRS2, that controls the flow of magnesium in the mice, reduced the amount which enters the cells, The U.S. Sun noted.
This mechanism increases metabolism so that the rats who were fed a high-fat diet for 20 weeks remained slim when receiving CPACC and boasted lower cholesterol and blood sugar levels compared to the control group. The researchers noted that the mice that were not given the drug but were fed the same high-fat diet saw an increase in body fat.
"When we give this drug to the mice for a short time, they start losing weight," said Madesh Muniswamy, Ph.D., a biochemist from the University of Texas who led the research. "They all became slim.
"A drug that can reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases such as heart attack and stroke, and also reduce the incidence of liver cancer, which can follow fatty liver disease, will make a huge impact. We will continue its development."
Study author Travis Madaris, a doctoral student working with Muniswamy, told the New York Post that the drug, along with some minor lifestyle changes, could be a "game changer" for people who struggle to lose weight.
Madaris said CPACC works differently than current weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy that specifically target insulin response. The next challenge is learning how to manufacture the drug into a pill, so it inhibits the flow of magnesium into cells, since deleting the MRS2 gene in humans would be impossible.
In theory, this would allow people to take CPACC and lose weight without adapting to a new diet. The study, published in the journal Cell Reports, suggests that the drug combats the health consequences of a bad diet, along with promoting weight loss. The team filed a patent application for the drug and intends to carry out human trials in the coming years.
"The idea is that we could intervene in someone starting to gain weight, and their doctors are like, 'You need to start exercising and eating healthier,'" Madaris said. "This could be an early intervention for people that are becoming obese."
Madaris told the Post that there are more trials to be completed in rodents first, as the researchers begin to develop an oral version of the medicine.