Weight loss jabs such as Ozempic and Wegovy have been hailed as the future of obesity treatment – but some users are debilitated by nausea and regain the lost pounds as soon as they stop injections.
Both those problems could be solved by a new weight loss treatment that has shown promising results in a newly svelte group of rats.
For now, this potential weight loss miracle is known as GEP44.
It is similar to other weight loss jabs in that it interacts with gut hormone receptors to signal fullness, curb appetite and normalise blood sugar.
The difference is that it activates multiple receptors rather than just one – and it seems that could be the key to bypassing nausea and vomiting.
Obese rats were given GEP44, which caused them to eat up to 80% less than they normally would.
By the end of the 16-day study they had lost 12% of their body weight – with no signs of nausea.
Shrews were also part of the study because rats are not capable of vomiting, and did not show any sign of sickness.
GEP44 not only reduces eating but also boosts calorie burn, the researchers found.
The research, led by Dr Robert Doyle from Syracuse University and Dr Christian Roth of Seattle Children’s Research Institute, was presented at a meeting of the American Chemical Society on Wednesday.
The latest results also show rats treated with GEP44 keep their new, slimmer physique even after treatment ends, which often isn’t the case with currently approved drugs, Dr Doyle said.
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The treatment also reduced blood sugar by pulling glucose into muscle tissue, where it can be used as fuel, and by converting certain cells in the pancreas into insulin-producing cells, helping replace those damaged by diabetes.
The researchers have filed for patents on their compounds and plan to test them in primates.
“For a long time, we didn’t think you could separate weight reduction from nausea and vomiting, because they’re linked to the exact same part of the brain,” Dr Doyle said.
Uncoupling those two pathways could also have implications for chemotherapy, which causes similar side effects.
“What if we could maintain the benefit of chemotherapy drugs but tell the part of the brain that causes vomiting and nausea to knock it off? Then we could dose patients at a higher level, so they would have a better prognosis, and they would also have a better quality of life while undergoing chemotherapy,” he said.