Early tests of this molecule have found that it curbs appetite and improves metabolism.
Scientists have found a molecule that mimics Ozempic to curb appetite.(Image: Getty Images)
Over the last year there has been a boom in interest surrounding weight loss injections. With a few brands on the market, many people wanting to manage their weight have tried out the medication as it helps reduce your appetite and get rid of ‘food noise’.
However, users of Ozempic have reported struggling with nasty side effects. While these side effects can often improve over time, users have been hit with nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain, and constipation, which commonly occur as they increase their dosage.
Ozempic and Rybelsus, are made of semaglutide, which is a glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1RA) that is prescribed to patients with type 2 diabetes to help manage their blood sugars. Semaglutide is also sold under the name Wegovy, which is used for weight loss and reducing cardiovascular risk.
However, scientists from Stanford Medicine have now identified a naturally-occurring molecule that appears to mimic some of the weight loss effects of semaglutide. Called BRP, this molecule has been found to reduce appetite and body weight through animal studies, while avoiding several common side effects.
BRP is said to work through a different but related biological pathway and activates distinct groups of neurons in the brain. Scientists think this may suggest a more precise way to help control appetite and metabolism.
Senior author of the study published in Nature, assistant professor of pathology, Katrin Svensson PhD, said: “The receptors targeted by semaglutide are found in the brain but also in the gut, pancreas and other tissues.
“That’s why Ozempic has widespread effects including slowing the movement of food through the digestive tract and lowering blood sugar levels. In contrast, BRP appears to act specifically in the hypothalamus, which controls appetite and metabolism.”
Svensson has also co-founded a company that has plans to begin human clinical trials in the near future. After using artificial intelligence to help discover which molecules, and their smaller peptides, would be the most efficient, the peptide BRP was discovered.
After testing on a lab-grown brain, BRP was seen to boost the brain’s activity by tenfold in comparison to control cells, which was even higher than GLP-1.
The peptide was then tested on lean mice and minipigs, which more closely mirror a human’s metabolism and eating patterns. The BRP was seen to significantly reduce food intake, with a single injection before feeding lowering consumption by up to 50 per cent within an hour.
In obese mice, the study found that daily injections over 14 days led to an average weight loss of three grams, which was primarily fat. Meanwhile, untreated mice were seen to gain about three grams of fat in the same period.
Additionally, treated animals were also seen to show improvements in glucose and insulin tolerance. However, more importantly the animals did not show any changes in movement, digestion, water intake, or anxiety-like behaviour.
Researchers of the study are now working on a way to identify the specific receptors that interact with BRP as it was confirmed by additional analysis that the peptide works differently through the brain and metabolic pathways than GLP-1 or semaglutide.
As well as getting a better understanding of how BRP functions in the body, the scientists are exploring ways to extend its effects so it could be used more conveniently if it proves to be effective in people.
Svensson said: “The lack of effective drugs to treat obesity in humans has been a problem for decades. Nothing we’ve tested before has compared to semaglutide’s ability to decrease appetite and body weight. We are very eager to learn if it is safe and effective in humans.”
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.dailyrecord.co.uk
