SamanthaNY
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MONDAY, June 25 (HealthDay News) -- Overweight people with diabetes may not find the Gila monster quite so monstrous anymore, thanks to a new weight-loss drug that mimics a compound in the creature's spit.
The drug -- a synthetic form of a hormone called exendin-4 found in the lizard's saliva -- helped people with type 2 diabetes shed pounds, a three-year study found.
The Gila monster is a venomous lizard that lives in the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico.
This study of 217 patients found that three years of treatment with the drug exenatide (brand name Byetta) resulted in sustained, progressive weight loss averaging 11 pounds. Many of the patients also showed sustained reductions in blood sugar levels and in blood biomarkers that indicate liver injury.
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Exenatide was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in April 2005 for treatment of type 2 diabetes patients who are unable to get their blood sugar under control with one or both of two other drugs, metformin and sulfonylurea.
*more*
The drug -- a synthetic form of a hormone called exendin-4 found in the lizard's saliva -- helped people with type 2 diabetes shed pounds, a three-year study found.
The Gila monster is a venomous lizard that lives in the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico.
This study of 217 patients found that three years of treatment with the drug exenatide (brand name Byetta) resulted in sustained, progressive weight loss averaging 11 pounds. Many of the patients also showed sustained reductions in blood sugar levels and in blood biomarkers that indicate liver injury.
...
Exenatide was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in April 2005 for treatment of type 2 diabetes patients who are unable to get their blood sugar under control with one or both of two other drugs, metformin and sulfonylurea.
*more*
