A drug used to treat asthma may provide a major breakthrough in the treatment of diabetes. Researchers at the Life Sciences Institute of the University of Michigan used amlexanox in studies involving mice and made the remarkable discovery that the drug appears to change the metabolic balance of the body to deal with excessive calorie storage.
The same team have already discovered that two genes – IKKE and TBK1 – play a vital part in maintaining metabolic balance and act as a brake on the metabolism. Our metabolism dictates the rate at which our body burns calories and each individual burns calories at a different rate. When on a diet, some people find they do not lose weight at the start because their metabolism slows to help the body deal with the reduced calories it is receiving.
The Michigan researchers say that amlexanox appeared to inhibit the IKKE and TBK1 genes in mice, allowing the metabolic system to burn more calories and store less energy. Their study revealed that amlexanox could reduce the weight of obese mice and undid weight-related metabolic problems such as diabetes and fatty liver.
Amlexanox is an off-patent drug used to treat asthma in Japan and is prescribed for canker sores in the US.
The findings of the Michigan research were published in the journal Nature Medicine. The next stage for the researcher is to find a formulation of amlexanox that will have the same effect in humans that it does in mice, potentially offering new hope for diabetics.
Comments are closed.