Sassy Black Friend

Science versus the neighbor

From an early morning discussion with my neighbor about her recent weight loss.

She talks about the hard work and rewards and that finding the best diet pill for her body helped a lot to jump start things. She thinks there’s a real future there, in developing medications that give a leg up.

And then sent me this via email later (from Wikipedia):

Another potential long-term approach to anti-obesity medication is through the development of ribonucleic acid interference (RNAi). Animal studies have illustrated that the deletion of the RIP140 gene in mice by genetic knockdown results in the lack of fat accumulation, even when mice are fed a high fat diet[14]. Experiments conducted by Professor Malcolm Parker of Imperial College show that by silencing RIP 140, a nuclear hormone co-repressor which regulates fat accumulation, animal models exhibit a lean profile throughout their life, are resistant to diet-induced obesity, and show an enhanced metabolic rate[citation needed]. CytRx Corporation is developing RNAi therapeutics against this drug target for the treatment of obesity and type 2 diabetes.

Luigi Ambrosio, a lead researcher at the National Research Council’s Institute for Composite and Biomedical Materials in Naples is testing a new hydrogel diet pill[citation needed]. The pill, which is undergoing clinical trials at Rome’s Policlinico Gemelli hospital, is made from biodegradable polycellulose that soaks up to 1,000 times its weight in water, which the body flushes out in a few hours while giving dieters a sense of satiety. Because there are no active ingredients, successful safety trials could put this hydrogel pill on the market without a long delay.

Er, okay. I like the word polycellulose. This isn’t an area I have any experience with so I didn’t have a lot to contribute to the conversation.