The European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) has collected data, the analysis of which concludes that Levemir ® (insulin injection), a once-daily treatment for patients of diabetes (type 1 and 2), can also lead to weight loss for insulin-naïve patients with type 2 diabetes. It provides a similar blood glucose response as glargine without any important difference in daily average consumption (DACON). The costs on pharmacy, too, remain the same.

A clinical trial has collected data, the analysis of which confirms that the first-in-class direct renin inhibitor Rasilez® (aliskiren), known as Tekturna® in the US, reduces blood pressure levels more significantly in obese patients with high blood pressure compared to the diuretic hydrochlorothiazide (HCT) alone. Obese patients with high blood pressure have an increased risk of cardiovascular and kidney disease. Rasilez/Tekturna is approved in 55 countries. It was approved in the US  and the European Union in 2007. The drug was discovered by Novartis and developed in collaboration with Speedel.

Researchers of Genetics at Merck Research Laboratories report that obesity; diabetes and heart disease are all linked to disruption in the entire gene network due to overeating.  Hundred of genes were disordered when mice were given high fat western diets. Research among Icelandic humans showed that people having a higher body mass index, have a different pattern of gene activation in their fatty tissues not seen in the blood DNA samples.

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According to American researchers, bariatric surgery patients with two obesity-related genetic variations are more likely to be obese compared to others. Published in the journal, Archives of Surgery, researchers analyzed patients’ blood samples for two common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that are known to be connected with obesity. The research may offer new hope for patients who do not lose weight even after undergoing bariatric surgery.

Scientists at the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet have in two recent studies shown that a receptor called ALK7 plays important roles in the regulation of body fat deposition as well as the release of insulin from beta-cells in the pancreas. The studies conducted by a group lead by Professor Carlos Ibáñez showed that removing the ALK7 receptor improves insulin release by beta-cells in the pancreas, and at the same time decreases fat deposition in situations of high caloric intake. These findings have implications for the development of treatments against diabetes and obesity.

A study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Kaiser Permanente Northwest Center for Health Research demonstrated that obesity during pregnancy requires greater use of health care as well as longer hospital stays. According to Susan Chu, Ph.D., lead scientist of the study, the increased health care use had greater cost implications for the patients.

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EnteroMedics has received the FDA’s Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) approval to conduct trials for Maestro™ System, a product that uses the VBLOC therapy for the treatment of obesity. The company’s VBLOC therapy seeks to stop the impulse to overeat by blocking the vagal nerves, which communicate feelings of hunger and fullness from the brain to the stomach.

People suffering from depression or anxiety are more prone to be obese and to smoke, according to a study published in the journal General Hospital Psychiatry. The study, which compiled data from more than 200,000 adults, showed that those with current depression or a previous diagnosis of depression were 60% more likely to be obese and twice as likely to smoke as those who were not depressed. The research also found that people with an anxiety disorder were 30% more likely to be obese and twice as likely to smoke as those without anxiety.

The FDA has granted EnteroMedics Inc. approval for the expansion of its pivotal clinical trial, known as the EMPOWER Study, from 220 patients to 300 patients. Full enrollment in the study is expected to be completed in the first half of 2008. The EMPOWER Study is being conducted to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of investigational VBLOC™ vagal blocking therapy using the Maestro™ System in obese patients. VBLOC Therapy promotes earlier feelings of fullness and reduced hunger and also minimizes the side effects and complications related to existing surgical options and preserving the individual’s normal anatomy.

As evidence of Britain’s childhood obesity crisis, a study showed that a quarter of five-year-olds and more than a third of 11-year-olds are overweight. The statistics were derived from a study in which approximately 800,000 children were weighed and measured in the National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP) conducted by the NHS Information Centre. Officials indicated that the statistics may be on the lower side, since the government’s weighing program in primary schools is voluntary and the most obese children might not have participated.