Showing posts with label antiobesity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label antiobesity. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Green coffee beans show potential for losing weight..

In  a  study  presented,  at  the  American  Chemical  Society’s  spring     national meeting in San Diego, 16 over weight young adults took, by turns, a low dose of green coffee bean extract, a high  dose  of  the supplement, and a placebo. Though the study was small, the results were striking: Subjects lost an average of 17.5 pounds in 22 weeks and reduced their overall body weight by 10.5%.If green coffee extract were a medication seeking approval from the Food and Drug Administration, these results would make it a viable candidate — more than 35% of subjects lost more than 5% of their body weight, and weight loss appeared to be greater while subjects were taking the pills than when they were on the placebo.

Joe Vinson, the University of Scranton chemist who conducted the pilot study, said the findings should pave the way for more rigorous research on coffee bean extract’s effects. A larger trial involving 60 people is being planned.Vinson, whose research focuses on plant polyphenols and their effects on human health, said it appears that green coffee bean extract may work by reducing the absorption of fat and glucose in the gut; it may also reduce insulin levels, which would improve metabolic function. There were no signs of ill effects on any subjects, Vinson reported.

The study used a “cross-over” design, which allowed each subject to serve as his or her own comparison group. For six weeks, volunteers swallowed capsules three times a day, ingesting either 700 or 1,050 milligrams of green coffee extract a day or taking a placebo. After a two-week break, they moved, round-robin style, to another arm of the trial.Subjects did not change their calorie intake over the course of the trial. But the more extract they consumed, the more weight and fat they lost. Altogether, they reduced their body fat by 16%, on average.Of the 16 volunteers, six wound up with a body mass index in the healthful range.One downside is that the extract is “extremely bitter.” It would be difficult to take without a lot of water, Vinson reported.....

Ref : Detailed article read at

I found the following link more informative...

Sunday, August 19, 2012

Zafgen announces new data from two Phase 1 studies of beloranib on obesity

Zafgen announces new data from two Phase 1 studies of beloranib on obesity: Zafgen, Inc., the world's first biopharmaceutical company dedicated to addressing the unmet need of severely obese patients, today announced new data from two Phase 1 studies of beloranib, a selective methionine aminopeptidase 2 inhibitor (MetAP2), which showed significant weight loss and improvements in cardiometabolic risk markers in severely obese women.

Treatment with beloranib (see structure) was associated with improvements in weight loss and triglycerides, LDL cholesterol, waist circumference and diastolic blood pressure, with no evidence of major tolerability or safety issues.  Body composition measured in one study indicated a reduction in fat mass with beloranib.  

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Lorcaserin Receives Positive Vote From FDA Advisory Committee

In continuation of my update on Lorcaserin

(FDA) Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee voted 18 to 4, with one abstention, that the available data demonstrate that the potential benefits of lorcaserin outweigh the potential risks when used long-term in a population of overweight and obese individuals. Lorcaserin is an investigational drug candidate intended for weight management, including weight loss and maintenance of weight loss, in patients who are obese (BMI greater than or equal to 30) or patients who are overweight (BMI greater than or equal to 27) and have at least one weight-related co-morbid condition.
"The advisory committee's positive vote supports our belief in lorcaserin as a potential new treatment option for the medical management of overweight and obesity," said Jack Lief, Arena's President and Chief Executive Officer. "We will continue to work with the FDA as the agency completes its review of the lorcaserin new drug application."