UAB hopes for cure of obesity and diabetes (2)
Gene therapy has succeeded in curing obesity and type 2 diabetes in mice, the results of the work of a team of researchers from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) led by Professor Fátima Bosch. The treatment is based on a single injection and does not cause any side effect, which according to those responsible for the investigation indicates that it is “safe and effective.” The next step will be to test it on larger animals and then begin clinical trials with patients. The researchers believe that this last phase could start in as little as five years.
The process involves introducing a gene that creates the FGF21 protein. Over a period of time, the test animals decreased their weight, the accumulation of fat and the inflammation of fatty tissue. The therapy has also counteracted inflammation of the liver and the resistance to insulin, among other benefits.
“It is the first time that it has been possible to counteract obesity and long-term insulin resistance by administering a single session of gene therapy,” says Bosch who also indicated that this treatment has a protective effect against the risk of formation of tumors when the liver is subjected to a hypercaloric diet for a long period of time as well.
At present 425 million people world-wide suffer from type 2 diabetes.