A new hormonal vaccine has been developed that may help overweight people shed pounds.
A new study of the shot, reported in the Journal of Animal Science and Biotechnology, found that it effectively boosted weight loss in mice and could prove similarly beneficial to overweight people who haven’t had success with other diet, fitness or medication programs.
The vaccine contains somatostatin, a peptide hormone that blocks the action of growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor – resulting in an increase in metabolism and weight loss.
Keith Haffer, a researcher with Braasch Biotech LLC, tested the vaccinations in 20 diet-induced obese male mice and compared them with a group of mice that received inactive saline injections. Mice in all groups had been fed a high fat diet prior to the study and continued to eat the same food during the six-week study. The vaccinations were administered at the start of the study and then a second time after three weeks.
Four days after receiving the first vaccine, treated mice had a 10 percent drop in body weight. By the end of the study, the mice had significantly reduced body weight, Haffer said.
"This study demonstrates the possibility of treating obesity with vaccination," he added. "Although further studies are necessary to discover the long-term implications of these vaccines, treatment of human obesity with vaccination would provide physicians with a drug- and surgical- free option against the weight epidemic."