Main Category: Obesity / Weight Loss / Fitness
Also Included In: Immune System / Vaccines
Article Date: 10 Jul 2012 - 9:00 PDT
Vaccine Breakthrough Could Help Fight Obesity
Obesity is becoming a serious problem in the USA and UK, and many other parts of the world. Scientists have now found that two somatostatin vaccinations show promise in keeping the body slim - the vaccines are called JH17 and JH18. The researchers published their study in the Journal of Animal Science and Biotechnology.
Keith Haffer, who works for Braasch Biotech LLC, says that both growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) accelerate metabolism and help people lose weight. Somatostatin, however, a peptide hormone, blocks (inhibits) the action of GH and IGF-1.
Haffer and team found that a vaccine with modified somatostatin triggers the body into producing anti-somatostatin antibodies, effectively removing the inhibition of GH and IGF-1.
The researchers had two groups of diet-induced obese mice. Over a six week period, they observed 10 mice which were administered the vaccination, as well as a control group of mice which were given a saline solution. All the mice were given their vaccines twice, once on day one, and then again on day 22.
Within four days, the modified somatostatin group had an average 10% drop in body weight. The animals in the control group continued weighing the same.
At the end of the study, the mice in the modified somatostatin group had significantly lower body weight than those in the other group, and still had normal levels of growth hormone IGF-1, and insulin levels.
The author explained that therapeutic vaccine usage in medicine already exists for the treatment of human prostate cancer and melanoma. A therapy to treat and manage obesity in humans by vaccination would provide doctors with a common and well accepted medical procedure to tackle a globally widespread and progressively worsening human disease condition. If successful, this vaccine could be used to treat obesity without the use of drugs or surgical procedures.
Haffer added that the vaccine effect still worked when the mice were continuously fed a 60% kcal fat diet.
Haffer wrote:
The final result of the study is the demonstration of the usefulness of treating obesity with vaccination and warrants additional studies and parameter monitoring in other animal models (normal pigs, obese minipigs and obese dogs).
Obesity rates in the USA and many other parts of the world have been rising steadily over the last thirty years
Written by Grace Rattue
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today
Keith N Haffer
Journal of Animal Science and Biotechnology, July 2012, doi: 10.1186/2049-1891-3-21 Please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your essay, paper or report:
MLA
16 Jul. 2012.
Please note: If no author information is provided, the source is cited instead.
posted by I.DAvies on 11 Jul 2012 at 3:40 am
It would be brilliant to have a vaccine like this for people like myself I have tried loots of diets and some do work but to be honest it does come down to cost and also exercise as I have Arthritis and not able to to do any exercise due to pain, I would love to lose weight and feel better this would also help me with the pain if I lost weight, so I will keep hoping.
| post followup | alert a moderator |
'Vaccine Breakthrough Could Help Fight Obesity'
Please note that we publish your name, but we do not publish your email address. It is only used to let you know when your message is published. We do not use it for any other purpose. Please see our privacy policy for more information.
If you write about specific medications or operations, please do not name health care professionals by name.
All opinions are moderated before being included (to stop spam)
Contact Our News Editors
For any corrections of factual information, or to contact the editors please use our feedback form.
Please send any medical news or health news press releases to:
Note: Any medical information published on this website is not intended as a substitute for informed medical advice and you should not take any action before consulting with a health care professional. For more information, please read our terms and conditions.
No comments:
Post a Comment