US scientists have found, using a drug normally used to prevent rejection of transplants, a way to reduce obesity in the elderly.
Obesity is one of the major scourges of our society today, and although many researchers are trying to solve, or at least reduce this “epidemic”, there is still a lot of work. Currently, in industrialized countries, 39% of adults over 20 are overweight, according to WHO figures. A phenomenon which does not spare the elderly.
Scientists at the University of Florida have discovered that an immunosuppressant, generally used to prevent rejection of transplants, has the ability to reduce the appetite and fat mass of elderly rats. A real sign of hope, since obesity in people of a certain age is becoming a major health problem in the United States. By 2020, the rate of seniors is expected to be around 73 million across the Atlantic. One third of them will be obese.
13% fat loss
According to a study published in the journal Journal of Gerontology, rapamycin, also called sirolimus, is said to have the ability to guess how the body produces leptin, the hormone that regulates fat stores and at the same time, appetite. Scientists extrapolate by imagining that, in humans, weight loss could be linked to regulation of this leptin.
To prove this, Professor Christy Carter and her team decided to test the effect of this drug on rats 25 months old, the equivalent of an age of 65 in humans. These animals have been chosen precisely so that their build and weight gain are close to those of obese seniors. A few weeks after starting treatment with rapamycin, scientists observed a 13% loss of body fat in rats.
The drug is also said to have been successful in stabilizing the level of leptin production. The hormone level appeared to be as well regulated as in very young rats. “In some cases, it is as if the observed rats have returned to their youthful weight,” explains Professor Carter.
Not yet in humans
Secondly, the researchers decided to also test this strategy on overweight young rats. They observed a stabilization of leptin production. “These experiences have one thing in common: rapamycin has the ability to act on rats of any age if they are overweight,” confirms Professor Carter. On the other hand, the study does say that determining the right dosage is essential: too little rapamycin does not reduce obesity, but too much increases the level of glucose in the blood.
At the moment, there is no evidence that rapamycin works in the human body. It will take many more clinical tests to see, perhaps, the creation of a new treatment to fight obesity.
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