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Over the past few months tissue engineers have discovered chemicals that can act as a switch to tell fat cells to grow and multiply.

Hold on. This is not a good thing. We don’t want our fat cells growing and multiplying!

But the good news is this has helped the scientists develop two drugs that can switch fat cell growth off.

The tissue engineers from Bernard O’Brien Institute of Microsurgery have had success in the lab and will begin testing the drugs on rats to see if it could be used in the future as an obesity treatment.

The tissue engineering team has not yet published its work or disclosed details of the drugs but the programs director has revealed the discovery could potentially have a profound effect on obesity and weight related diseases.

“We know what those molecular signals are and we have got some molecules that block them. It’s fabulous and offers all sorts of possibilities. It’s what pharmacologists always think about,” said Prof Greg Dusting.

Within two years there is hope that animal trials will have provided enough adequate information to determine if they can effectively purge fat growth. However at this stage there is a concern and little known about the consequences of stopping fat growth and the excess energy that comes from overeating.

The breakthrough discovery of oxidase enzymes (which signal fat cell growth) was made by Prof Dusting and colleague Dr Keren Abberton, in collaboration with Melbourne University.

I think it needs to be noted that this would be a potential treatment for obesity, perhaps in order to avoid surgery. It should not, and I hope it is not touted as a general weight loss pill if it goes to market. As we hopefully all realise the best way to stay fit and in shape is through exercise and a well rounded healthy diet.

Original Article: Scientists discover how to switch obesity cells off

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