November OMR: Is leptin an effective anti-obesity treatment?

November 8,1999. The next edition of OBESITY MEDS AND RESEARCH NEWS will be on-line later this week. Here's a look at just a few of stories we will cover this month:

Lead story: Is leptin an effective anti-obesity treatment? In the past month two clinical trials on leptin were reported and showed while some patients lost weight, others did not. Some subjects even gained weight. So the question remains, who will leptin help? In this edition of OMR, we summarize the studies, and also bring you an in-depth leptin review which will also be placed in our OBESITY 101 series. If you have no idea what the differences are between leptin mutations in obese mice and obese human beings, this article will explain it to you. Our leptin review will give you an overview of the rare mutations and not so rare leptin deficiencies seen in various populations, as well as an up-to-date overview as to how leptin may play a role in the pathogenesis of obesity in humans.

Circadian rhythm and obesity. A recent study indicates that sleep deprivation produces severe endocrine function changes that resemble the effects of advanced age or the early stages of diabetes. Researchers suspect that chronic sleep loss may hasten the onset, and increase the severity of age related ailments like diabetes, hypertension, obesity and memory loss. In November, OMR reviews this article and another which describes how a disruption in circadian insulin secretion affects type-2 diabetics and their relatives.

Does exposure to plastics cause obesity? While great strides have been made over the years to reduce the amount of environmental toxins in our atmosphere, in a modern society we are exposed to dozens of man-made materials every day. A recent study concludes that exposure to a certain kind of plastic may cause obesity and reproductive problems. Find out what this plastic is, and what types of products contain it in November OMR.

Other stories include coverage of two medical procedures which may be useful in the treatment of obesity, vagal nerve stimulation, and gamma knife irradiation, and don't miss OMR's on-site coverage of the North American Association for the Study of Obesity (NAASO) annual meeting later in November.

OBESITY MEDS AND RESEARCH NEWS is always on the cutting edge. If you want easy access to all the latest news, and the best database on obesity research, medication development, and other weight loss treatments, a subscription to OMR is indispensable. An on-line subscription provides access to our entire database, including all current and past issues.

If you missed our annual "Drugs in Development" issue, you can read a press release on this site at: http://www.prweb.com/releases/1999/prweb9376.htm.

Contact information: Barbara Hirsch, Publisher, OBESITY MEDS AND RESEARCH NEWS, PO Box 19316, Alexandria, VA 22320- 0316, telephone: 703/960-3649; fax: 703/960-7462; e-mail:     subscriptions@obesity-news.com. OMR is available in both on-line and hard copy editions.





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