A group of researchers from The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston have discovered a promising developing drug that has been shown to selectively shrink excess fat by increasing fat cell metabolism.
The drug significantly reduces body weight and blood cholesterol levels without lowering food intake in obese mice. Obesity is a major public health problem around that world that is a leading cause of healthcare costs and compromised quality of life.
As fat cells grow larger, they begin to overexpress a protein that acts as a metabolic brake that slows down fat cell metabolism, making it harder for these cells to burn accumulating fat.
The researchers have discovered a molecule that blocks this metabolic brake from operating in obese white fat cells. By blocking this metabolic brake, they were able to increase the metabolism within white fat cells.
The initial results have been encouraging and support further development of this technology as a new and more effective approach to combating metabolic diseases.