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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
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11

Pill May Slash Body Weight By a Quarter

Combination of hormones has a potent effect on mice

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(Newser) – A drug that cut the body weight of mice by 25% is raising hopes for humans, the Daily Telegraph reports. The rodents lost 42% of their fat mass after a week, with even more powerful effects seen over a month. The pill combines hormones that have been found to weaken appetite and reduce weight. More research is required before testing can begin on humans, researchers say.

“No single agent has proven to be capable of reducing body weight more than 5%-10% in the obese population,” says one of the Indiana University researchers. “Combination therapies using multiple drugs simultaneously may represent the preferred pharmaceutical approach.” Other combinations may be better than this one, he notes.

Mice fatter than this guy lost up to a quarter of their body weight in a new study.
Mice fatter than this guy lost up to a quarter of their body weight in a new study.   (Getty Images)
Mice treated with a new pill lost 25% of their weight after a week.
Mice treated with a new pill lost 25% of their weight after a week.   (AP Photo)
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11 comments
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texasaurus
Jul 14, 09 2:25 PM CDT
If they can combine this with the Israeli aphrodisiac gum (We are calling it "Dum-Gum" around the office) they're gonna put viagra out of business. Reply
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+4
freethemall
Jul 14, 09 2:51 PM CDT
It seems we often hear of various wonderful substances that seem to worked miraculously to cure various maladies when tested on animals, always with the caveat that more research is required before testing can begin on humans. Then we never hear anymore about it, one way or another. Reply
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+4
Jojo
Jul 14, 09 3:03 PM CDT
First clue we'll never hear about it again: Source: Daily Telegraph Reply
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-3
tiredofthisnonsense
Jul 14, 09 5:25 PM CDT
"we'll never hear about it again" because obesity is the leading cause for type II diabetes and hypertension, which are the cash cows for physicians and drug companies. Heal the people and there goes their affluent lifestyle.... poof! Reply
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+6
IN RESPONSE:
Mad
Jul 14, 09 6:46 PM CDT
What an incredibly sad but true statement
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