Obesity treatment 'could use gut hormone'

Obesity treatment could use gut hormone, scientists say

A gut hormone could be used in obesity treatment in the future as it was found to be capable of suppressing appetite which may help obese patients shed weight and lower their blood pressure.

A team of scientists from the University of Copenhagen analyzed the results of 25 clinical trials involving over 6,000 patients who had been given the hormone. They found out that patients who received clinically relevant doses for at least 20 weeks lost at least 7lbs, a greater weight-loss than the control groups.

There were common side effects such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, but it did not affect the number of patients dropping out of the trials, suggesting that overall patient satisfaction with the treatment is relatively high, according to the researchers.

"I am using them on my patients and have had a lot of ­success. For some they have been dramatically successful, with one losing about four stone and having blood sugar under control for the first time ever," Dr. David Haslam, the Chairman at the National Obesity Forum, told the Daily Express.

The scientists recommended that the hormone be "considered" for obese patients suffering from diabetes, and called for further trials to test its efficacy for obese people who are not diabetic.

Known as glucagon-like peptide-1, or GLP-1, the hormone is naturally secreted from the intestine when a person eats. It has recently been introduced as a treatment for patients with type 2 diabetes for its ability to regulate blood sugar levels.

Professor Raj Padwal from the University of Alberta argued in an accompanying editorial that the "modification of diet and lifestyle remains the cornerstone of the treatment of type 2 diabetes."