Canker Soar Drug May Fight Obesity, Cause Weight Loss

Researchers say a drug used to treat canker sores helps mice lose weight without diet or exercise. The mouth sore drug is called Amlexanox, and it’s been on the market for more than 15 years. University of Michigan researchers gave mice a high-fat diet, and the mice became obese. Then they injected the animals with Amlexanox and the mice lost weight, even though they kept eating the same amount of calories. The mice gained all the weight back when they were taken off the drug. The researchers will begin human studies later this year. Read more at http://wgntv.com/2013/02/11/canker-sore-medicine-linked-to-weight-loss-in-mice/#0FmeE2fYTlaZPwTw.99 Read more: http://wgntv.com/2013/02/11/canker-sore-medicine-linked-to-weight-loss-in-mice/#ixzz2MhqjPfSw

Amlexanox Miracle Obesity Cure? Maybe

Obese mice injected with the drug lost weight despite consuming the same amount of calories. The mice experienced weight gain once they were taken off the Amlexanox injections. CNN News reports that the new study may lead to a viable weight loss option once human testing is conducted by university researchers later this year. While numerous drugs do not produce the same effects in people as they do in mice, doctors from the University of Michigan are encouraged by the results of their research. The findings come from the lab of Alan Saltiel, the Mary Sue Coleman director of the Life Sciences Institute at the university. Saltiel spoke about the study in a February 10 news release: Read more at http://www.inquisitr.com/518438/canker-sore-drug-may-be-effective-weight-loss-solution-study/#26riU6JgGJfQ0UkA.99

Cure for Obesity in a Pill?

Back in 2009, U of Michigan researcher Dr. Alan Saltiel published a study indicating that the genes IKKE and TBK1 have a major impact on metabolic balance and obesity. His research indicated that when someone cuts calories in an attempt to lose weight, IKKE and TBK1 become active and “act together as a sort of brake on metabolism.” You want to lose weight You go on a diet You cut calories IKKE and TBK1 become active Your metabolism slows down Weight loss stops You get frustrated… Eat a box of Krispy Kremes And gain back all that body fat Based on his thesis, Dr. Saltiel went searching for compounds that… would inhibit the expression of IKKE and TBK1 prevent reduced-calorie metabolism slowdown help calorie-counting dieters lose weight Using high-throughput chemical screening, the researchers came upon an approved off-patent drug – Amlexanox. Currently, amlexanox is being used to treat canker sores in the US and asthma in Japan for the past 25 years. More

Will Amlexanox Be Used for Weight Loss in Humans?

Researchers seem optimistic about the application of the drug to weight loss, although it needs to be tested on humans. They say that if it is ever approved for human use for weight loss, anyone who takes it will likely be on it for the rest of their lives. This amlexanox sounds great in theory, but….what about the other health effects of obesity? Things like diabetes, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure? Would these conditions also melt away with the help of this drug? It seems to be that if people were eating the same foods as when they were obese and living the same lifestyle as when they were obese (as the mice did), then their health conditions would persist at least somewhat, even if they lost weight by having their metabolisms speed up. While I think it’s beneficial to develop drugs that can address the affects of obesity (as well as the condition itself), I’m a little bit wary of what a drug like this could mean, if it goes on the market. It could very well be the magic weight-loss pill people have been looking for ever since….well, ever since people got fat. And while that’s not a bad thing, I think that there needs to be a sea change in lifestyle attitudes in our country before we can ever truly begin to address the growing problem of obesity. Healthy eating, regular exercise: these things take work, unlike a drug that speeds up the number of calories you burn regardless of what you eat or how much you move. But these kinds of lifestyle changes are also more likely to create the long-term health changes that would truly benefit people. Read more: http://www.blisstree.com/2013/02/11/sex-relationships/obesity-statistics/weight-loss-pill-amlexanox/#ixzz2MhnyQ93S

Amlexanox Causes Weight Loss in Mice

Researchers at the University of Michigan's Life Sciences Institute have found that amlexanox, an off-patent drug currently prescribed for the treatment of asthma and other uses, also reverses obesity, diabetes and fatty liver in mice. "These studies tell us that, at least in mice, the IKKE/TBK1 pathway plays an important role in defending body weight by increasing storage and decreasing burning of calories, and that by inhibiting that pathway with a compound, we can increase metabolism and induce weight loss, reverse diabetes and reduce fatty liver," Saltiel said. The drug has been on the market in Japan for more than 25 years. However, the researchers don't yet know if humans respond with the same pathway, or if the discovery of amlexanox's effectiveness in mice can lead to a compound that is safe and effective for treating obesity and diabetes in humans. "We will be working hard on that," Saltiel said. Saltiel's search for a drug targeting the IKKE/TBK1 pathway was supported by the Life Science Institute's Innovation Partnership, which provides philanthropic funding and business mentorship to help move promising research toward commercialization. The research was also supported by the National Institutes of Health, the Michigan Diabetes Research and Training Center, the Michigan Institute for Clinical and Health Research, and the Nathan Shock Center in the Basic Biology of Aging

Drug Found to Combat Obesity, Diabetes in Mice

A drug used to treat canker sores and asthma helped lower the weight of obese mice without diet or exercise. The drug, known as amlexanox, or Aphthasol, was also able to reverse their diabetes and fatty liver. Researchers at the University of Michigan's Life Sciences Institute analyzed the mice in the lab of Alan Saltiel, the Mary Sue Coleman director of the Life Sciences Institute. The findings are published in the journal Nature Medicine. Saltiel explained: "One of the reasons that diets are so ineffective in producing weight loss for some people is that their bodies adjust to the reduced calories by also reducing their metabolism, so that they are 'defending' their body weight. Amlexanox seems to tweak the metabolic response to excessive calorie storage in mice." Using different formulations, amlexanox is used for canker sores in the United States and to treat asthma in Japan. The medication has been sold in Japan for over 25 years. Saltiel is working with clinical-trial experts at the University of Michigan to examine whether the drug will be an effective treatment for obesity and diabetes in people. He and medicinal chemists at the University are also trying to create a novel compound based on the drug that makes the best use of its formula.