In France, 6.5 million adults (14.5% of the adult population) have a BMI over 30 and are considered obese. The results of a study from the University of Florida (United States) provide a new avenue for treatment against this modern-day scourge.
The solution would be based on an immunosuppressive drug, rapamycin. Used on 25-year-old rats (the equivalent of 65 in humans), the treatment reduced the appetite and fat mass of rodents. Immunosuppressants are drugs that reduce or block the body’s immune responses. They are prescribed mainly during a transplant.
Better regulated leptin
The experience reported in the journal Journal of Gerontology suggests that rapamycin would have a beneficial effect on fat loss in rodents and, by extrapolation, on humans by reducing body fat by 13%. It would actually act on leptin, commonly referred to as the “satiety hormone,” known to block hunger and control appetite.
Prof. Christy Carter, who led the study, argues that the immunosuppressant is able to stabilize the level of leptin production in healthy, overweight rats, regardless of their age. This regulation of leptin would decrease appetite and act positively on the fat reserves of rats.
However, further work is needed before this hypothesis can be validated in overweight or obese humans.
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