A new obesity drug that targets four hormones could help people lose more weight, keep it off for longer and reduce the side effects experienced from medication currently on the market.
The team behind the four in one ‘weight control quartet’ say it could match the bariatric surgery standard of lasting weight loss, which can result in long-term weight loss of up to 30%.
Current weight loss jabs, such as Ozempic and Wegovy, have seen a huge surge in popularity but side effects include osteoporosis, muscle loss, nausea, and weight gain if treatment is stopped. Around 40% of people taking them stop after a month due to nausea.
These current drugs target one, two or three hormone receptors linked to appetite. Now researchers from Tufts University in the U.S. – led by Professor of Chemistry Krishna Kumar – have identified a fourth hormone receptor that could boost weight loss and help to mitigate side effects.
Lead author Tristan Dinsmore, a graduate student in the Kumar lab, explained: “There is one more hormone we wanted to bring in to complete a weight control quartet.
“It’s called peptide YY (PYY). This molecule is also secreted by the gut after we eat a meal, and its job is to reduce appetite and slow the process of emptying food from the stomach, but via different mechanisms than either GLP-1 or GIP. It may also be involved in directly ‘burning off’ fat.”
Martin Beinborn, visiting scholar in the Department of Chemistry, said: “Recent studies indicate that weight rebound after drug discontinuation is delayed with the newer, more effective GLP-1 mimetics.
“Extending from this observation, one may speculate that multi-chimeras (when one peptide incorporates structural elements of both) along the lines of the one we discovered could get us closer to the bariatric surgery standard of lasting weight loss.”
The team said that ideally, lifestyle changes should run alongside drug treatment, which would help people to maintain their weight loss and could also help to reduce the loss of bone and muscle mass.
Read more Journal of the American Chemical Society
