Blood pressure pills ‘could treat obesity’
Pills that are traditionally prescribed to control blood pressure could be adapted to treat obesity, it has been claimed.
Researchers at the Howard Florey Institute in Melbourne re-engineered mice to eradicate the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) that constricts blood vessels and so raises blood pressure.
While the treated mice ate as much as those still with the ACE enzyme, they had half the fat and weighed about 20 per cent less.
Commenting on the findings, lead researcher Michael Mathai said: "It’s possible the drugs could be adapted to become specific weight-loss drugs - it may be a question of the correct dosage."
The researchers concluded that the weight loss was due to a higher metabolic rate, given that treated mice were no more active than those in the control group.
Additionally, the treated mice also cleared sugars faster than the untreated mice, suggesting that they were less likely to develop diabetes.
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