Word: weights
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...combat obesity was to build up your biceps ... in order to push yourself away from the table. Then came the discovery in 1995 of genes that regulate leptin, the hormone that controls how much fat your body stores. Since then, scientists have identified dozens of compounds related to weight, some released in the brain and others...
...which has set off a pharmaceutical feeding frenzy, because every compound scientists can identify as weight related represents a potential target for drug development. And any drug that can safely prevent or reduce weight gain is not only a potential blockbuster but a lifesaver as well...
Finding those drugs, however, won't be easy. Weight may be a single number, but it represents the sum of a bewildering network of overlapping metabolic pathways, all designed to protect the body from starvation by packing on as many pounds as possible. In addition, not everybody gains weight the same way, so a drug targeting one pathway will probably not work for all overweight people. "The whole feeding mechanism is a survival mechanism, and it is strongly defended for that purpose," explains Ken Batchelor of GlaxoSmithKline. "What we are attempting to do with pharmacology is to reverse that process...
...that is more closely related to leptin. Regeneron's agent, Axokine, fools the brain into thinking that the body's fat stores are well stocked, short-circuiting the need to eat. People who took Axokine and stayed on a low-calorie diet and exercise program lost twice as much weight as those who relied on diet and exercise alone...
...Houston are trying to starve fat cells by attacking proteins embedded in the blood vessels that feed those cells. In experiments on obese mice, their excess fat melted away in a matter of weeks. Not only did this strategy eliminate fat tissue--the animals lost 30% of their body weight--but mice that were dangerously overweight quickly regained their health. In fact, early signs of diabetes reversed, fat no longer accumulated in the liver, and cholesterol and glucose levels dropped to normal. "We don't know if this will happen in people," warns Dr. Wadih Arap, a co-leader...