Scientists have moved one step closer to developing a miracle medication that will keep people slim no matter how much they eat.
The University of Texas researchers created a medication that boosts the body’s metabolism and makes it far more efficient at breaking down sugar and fat.
It accomplishes this by preventing magnesium from entering the mitochondria, the component of the cell responsible for creating energy and burning calories.
Mice fed the same high-calorie meal but not given the medication saw a rise in body fat.
Besides body weight, mice administered the medication had lower cholesterol and blood sugar levels than mice fed a standard diet of mouse chow.
It implies that the medicine, known as CPACC, also protects against all the negative health effects of a poor diet.
‘A medicine that can reduce the risk of cardiometabolic disorders such as heart attack and stroke, as well as the incidence of liver cancer, which can accompany the fatty liver disease, will make a big impact,’ said Dr. Madesh Muniswamy, a biochemist from the University of Texas who led the research. We will continue to grow it.
The team has applied for a patent on the medicine and plans to conduct human trials in the coming years.
For years, researchers have been researching the role of magnesium in metabolism – the chemical interactions in the body’s cells that convert food into energy.
They previously showed that too much magnesium decreases energy generation in the mitochondria, sometimes known as “cellular power plants.”
The new medicine was inspired by this discovery, which works by eliminating a specific gene called MRS2, which increases magnesium in the mitochondria.
By turning off this gene, the amount of mineral that enters the cell is reduced, which improves metabolism.
Male mice aged 14 weeks were fed a Western-style diet for up to a year.
Mice fed a standard diet of animal chow got obese after 30 weeks, whereas mice given the medicine in addition to following the equivalent of a Western diet did not gain nearly as much weight, remaining slim and healthy.
‘When we administer this medicine to the mice for a short time, they start losing weight,’ said Dr Muniswamy. They all lose weight.’
Those mice also had reduced levels of a liver enzyme called alanine aminotransferase (ALT), indicating that the liver was healthy.
The same could not be stated for mice fed a high-fat diet if CPACC was not present.
The study had some significant drawbacks, the most significant of which was that the medicine was tested in mice, and significantly more extensive research will be required to develop a human-safe version of it.
Furthermore, the Mrs2 gene was entirely turned off in some mice, preventing researchers from studying its impact on specific organs.
Mrs2 is found in many organs, including the brain, heart, kidneys, and lungs, and turning it off completely may have unintended consequences elsewhere in the body.
Cell Reports published the findings of the study.
