In the battle against obesity, Yale University researchers may have discovered a new weapon - a naturally occurring molecule secreted by the gut that makes rats and mice less hungry after fatty meals. The findings are published in the Nov. 26 issue of the journal Cell.  The report suggests the molecule may help regulate how much animals and people eat, according to the team headed by Gerald I. Shulman. The team studied a family of lipids called N-acylphosphatidylethanolamines, or NAPEs, which are synthesized and secreted into the blood by the small intestine after fatty foods are eaten.

Sunwin International Neutraceuticals, Inc. has announced the production launch of Rebaudioside A 95. It is one of the highest Stevia grades available in the market today. Sunwin’s stevia is an all natural product derived from naturally sweet Stevia plant cultivars. Sunwin’s Reb A 95 is comprised of 99.5% steviol glycosides, the naturally occurring compounds that give stevia its sweetness. Stevia is used worldwide for decades as a sweetening agent and is highly recommended for people suffering from diabetes and obesity. Applications are already pending in front of the US Food and Drug Administration for approval.

Stirling Products has received the first approval for its patent application for “Methods of decreasing fat deposits and body weight in mammals and birds” in New Zealand. The patent relates to the use of the company’s R-salbutamol compound. The product has the potential to reduce body weight. CEO and Managing Director of Stirling Products, Dr Calvin London said that he hoped that a series of approvals in other countries would follow. The company has already conducted studies for the compound on obese male Zucker rats.

The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has given positive opinion as a non-prescription product to GlaxoSmithKline’s alli (orlistat 60 mg). This takes the product to the stage of proposal for final approval by the European Commission. A marketing authorization will follow that. On the grant of license, alli 60 mg would become the first aid for weight loss to be available without prescription across Europe. It will be indicated for people above the age of 18 with a BMI more than 28 kg/m2.

The European Medicines Agency (EMEA) has made a recommendation to the European Commission (EC) for suspending Acomplia’s marketing authorization temporarily for the treatment of obese patients. The regulatory body concluded that the risks of Acomplia outweigh its benefits. Side effects such as depression have been a part of the warnings ever since the product was authorized in 2006. Sanofi-aventis is complying with the order, but believes that its product will continue to be an effective treatment.

A recent research conducted at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota has concluded that obese patients can consider bariatric surgery for reducing the risk of adverse cardiovascular events. This is the first ever study to take into account validated scores for cardiovascular risk on a patient population and compare them with previous results. The results showed that cardiovascular risk was reduced by up to 79 per cent.

Researchers from Vitagenes (a company that is a  part of the Campus program promoted by the University of Granada) in collaboration with some Australian scientists have discovered a new pattern/model of the molecule called interleukin-6 that may prove to be a boon for the patients suffering from obesity and diabetes. It was injected daily for two weeks. Then, its behavior and effects on the metabolism were analyzed. It was found that the molecule can help in development of drugs that can be beneficial in preventing and treating obesity. The study has been carried out on animals.

Researchers are studying the case of a 27-year-old woman who developed a vitamin deficiency after failing to take multivitamins post- gastric bypass surgery. After two months of an uncomplicated surgery for weight loss at the University College Hospital, London she suffered from dizziness, vomiting and low-appetite. Also, prescribed lansoprazole (drug for prevention of acid production in stomach), the patient was found to be deficient in these medications. Only after physicians administered thiamine (Vitamin B1), the patient recovered.

Orexigen Therapeutics, Inc. reviewed that Empatic™, the drug in its investigational stage, has proven to reduce the body weight of obese people, who had undergone year-long treatment without any diet and exercise, by 15%. Also, the company has presented some data on Contrave® that shows a 50% reduction in the prevalence of metabolic syndrome, from baseline, in patients of obesity. Both these products, in their development phase, have high potential of solving obesity problems.

Scientists at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Rockefeller University have found a fat precursor cell that may explain how the number of fat cells might increase and cause obesity. The white adipocyte progenitor cells that have been identified can help us know the factors which control the differentiation and spread of fat. A technique called fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) was brought into use to find out cell populations which could generate fat.