Is There A Drug To Help You Lose Fat And Gain Muscle Without Exercise?

Tens of millions of individuals inject the brand new “miraculous” weight reduction medicine concentrating on Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) corresponding to Wegovy, Ozempic, and Mounjaro. In mere years after the launch of those medicine, their well being advantages turned obvious. Overweight individuals began quickly dropping pounds, and a number of research demonstrated the discount of threat of persistent ailments. The hype round these medicine propelled their makers to the highest of the pharma Olympus and different pharmaceutical corporations are spending billions on buying and growing the subsequent technology of GLP-1 agonists which may be administered orally to catch up. Nonetheless, as many not-so-obese individuals started taking the medicine for aesthetic causes, docs everywhere in the world began noticing fast losses of their sufferers’ muscle mass and voicing their considerations. Lack of muscle mass is certainly a serious facet impact of GLP-1 agonists. The STEP 1 and SUSTAIN 8 of semaglutide trials discovered 39–40% of weight lost on the GLP-1 drugs was lean mass.

Usually, twenty-five p.c or extra of the load loss on these medicine is muscle. To know this downside deeper, I known as a celeb doctor, Dr. Nicole Sirotin, the Chair of Preventive Drugs within the Medical Subspecialties Institute and leads the Government Well being Program at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi. And that may be a place the place a few of the world’s super-rich go to keep away from getting sick.

“ I assume that you’ve many sufferers who usually are not used to listening to “No” for a solution and who can get these medicine in lots of different locations. And since a lot of their associates are utilizing it, even Elon, they assume it is rather secure. How do you take care of them, and the way do you guarantee they don’t take the drug when they aren’t overweight or diabetic?”, I requested.

“This drug may be very well-liked proper now, and other people see it as a straightforward repair. They assume in the event that they take the drug, the load will simply come off and keep off. Sadly, what they don’t see is that most individuals regain two-thirds of the load they lose after they cease the drug,” she replied. “ The opposite factor they don’t see is the muscle loss. We all know sustaining muscle mass and energy is without doubt one of the most essential drivers of wholesome getting old. With these medicine, I see my sufferers’ muscle tissues melting away. The trail for long-term weight reduction is growing fiber consumption, growing resistance coaching, and reducing down on extremely processed meals.”

One other longevity doctor, Dr. Evelyne Bischof, the director of Sheba Longevity Middle in Israel resonated: “The fantastic thing about GLP-1 agonists is that they’re clinically confirmed to work for weight reduction. And for overweight sufferers, this results in vital enchancment within the high quality of life and reduces the incidence of the numerous ailments. Nonetheless, sufferers have to double down on resistance coaching together with the drug to keep up muscle mass. You don’t need to lose muscle. You want it to remain youthful longer.”

Shedding Fats Whereas Gaining Muscle

There’s a very well-known breed of bulls known as “Belgian Blue”. You’ll be able to see one consultant of this breed within the opening picture for this text. These animals carry a mutation within the myostatin gene which permits them to develop phenomenal muscle with out train. The bull on the image is actual and it didn’t spend years pumping iron, injecting steroids, and controlling food regimen. Nonetheless, all efforts to duplicate this in people with a drug failed to succeed in the clinic as a result of the biology of this pathway may be very complicated. However since we all know that this phenotype is feasible and have nice examples within the animal world, the seek for the drug that may allow you to eat something you want, shed some pounds and keep away from shedding muscle is within the works.

Think about occurring a cheesecake and sweet food regimen for just a few months and staying lean and muscular with out an excessive amount of train. It seems to be like a bunch on the College of Copenhagen simply chanced on a gene which will assist obtain simply that. And it’s a very thrilling story.

Firstly, Copenhagen may be very particular place in terms of metabolic illness analysis. It’s a house to Europe’s largest pharmaceutical firm Novo Nordisk identified for its pioneering work with insulin. The truth is, it’s the firm behind the GLP-1 agonists Wegovy and Ozempic. Secondly, the College of Copenhagen is the host of the world’s largest annual occasion in longevity biotechnology, Aging Research and Drug Discovery assembly which I assist manage. In 2022, professor Jens Juul Holst, who helped uncover and develop these marvel weight reduction medicine gave a lecture on the ninth ARDD on incretin primarily based therapies of metabolic ailments and in 2024 he’s seemingly to provide one other discuss on the convention. Please take a look at his lecture beneath.

And on August ninth, 2023, two weeks previous to the beginning of the tenth ARDD, the College of Copenhagen revealed a paper that made me and lots of different individuals within the business drop the whole lot and skim it many times. The paper offered two photos of mice fed with 45% fats and 10% sugar food regimen (think about that you’re consuming candy cream cheese on a regular basis). One among these mice was a traditional mouse and seemed very overweight and one other mouse lacked a gene known as Traf2- and NCK-interacting protein kinase (TNIK) and seemed slim and beefy. And the impact was noticed in each feminine and male mice. These outcomes have been merely extraordinary. Not solely had the TNIK knockout mice survived and lived, they acquired metabolic superpowers.

My colleagues acquired very enthusiastic about this work. Now we have been engaged on this goal within the context of getting old, fibrosis, metabolism, most cancers, and different organic processes for a number of years. I can’t say extra to not steal the thunder within the case these research get revealed however I knew that I needed to meet the sensible minds and experimentalists behind this landmark experiment. I requested the chief chair of ARDD, professor Morten Scheibye-Knudsen, MD, PhD, to ask the principal investigator to the convention.

And that is how I met professor Lykke Sylow, the mastermind behind the paper, who heads a the Molecular Metabolism in Most cancers and Growing older group on the Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports.

Professor Sylow, elaborated on the inception of the TNIK examine, pushed by curiosity and serendipity. A collaborator in Munich had by the way famous a physique weight phenotype in TNIK mice, which sparked the investigation. The examine, initially a facet challenge, quickly revealed the gene’s vital position in metabolic processes. Professor Sylow defined the selection of TNIK for his or her analysis, owing to its involvement in varied mobile processes and its suspected position in metabolic regulation. The TNIK-lacking mice not solely survived on a high-fat, high-sugar food regimen but in addition exhibited elevated exercise and a leaner physique as a consequence of lowered fats mass.

“A collaborator in Munich by the way famous a physique weight phenotype in TNIK mice, although they didn’t pursue it additional. Leveraging our experience in metabolic pathways, we acknowledged the potential significance of this remark and initiated the examine as a facet challenge out of pure curiosity. Convincing the staff to partake on this analysis was comparatively simple, on condition that our PhD scholar on the time had not too long ago begun her doctoral work, and her main challenge, which concerned breeding different mice, progressed at a gradual tempo. Because the TNIK examine progressed, it turned evident that the preliminary probability discovery held appreciable scientific significance. It flourished right into a a lot larger challenge than initially anticipated. The investigation naturally developed into a extremely compelling case, highlighting the pivotal position of TNIK in metabolic processes and emphasizing the necessity for progressive approaches to grasp mechanisms associated to weight problems,” stated professor Sylow.

Relating to the potential utility of TNIK in people, particularly along with GLP-1 inhibitors, Professor Sylow expressed cautious optimism. The mixture of urge for food suppression from GLP-1 medicine and vitality expenditure enhance from TNIK inhibition might type a potent intervention for weight administration.

“Mice missing TNIK on a high-fat excessive sucrose food regimen exhibited a leaner phenotype in comparison with management mice, primarily pushed by the discount in fats mass; they weren’t extra muscular. But, the didn’t exhibit lowered muscle mass with the leaner phenotype, which is usually seen with weight reduction interventions, incl GLP1-based medicine. In our examine, the lowered physique mass was solely as a consequence of decrease fats mass. Our observations point out a notable shift in direction of a extra favorable physique composition,” professor Sylow continued. “I might enterprise to guess that the synergy between GLP1-based medicine, identified for suppressing urge for food, and TNIK inhibition, which boosts vitality expenditure, might doubtlessly type probably the most potent intervention. For slender individuals, the potential side-effects of those medicine would seemingly outweigh the befits.”

The examine’s success was largely attributed to the efforts of Phung Pham, a PhD scholar turned postdoc, and collaboration with drosophila skilled Essi Havula. Their findings not solely superior our understanding of the TNIK gene’s position in metabolism but in addition opened new paths for future analysis in muscle well being and metabolic regulation.

“Our collaboration with drosophila skilled Essi Havula additionally offered beneficial encouragement. Within the earlier 12 months, we had collectively found that the TNIK fly homologue, named misshapen, performed a pivotal position on the intersection of glucose and fats metabolism. Moreover, we found that TNIK knockout significantly reduced fly survival on a high-fat diet,” defined professor Sylow.

What impressed me probably the most concerning the examine have been the images of mice compressed in one of many figures. As Dr. Ned David preferred to say when presenting Unity Biotechnology, the senolytic firm he based, exhibiting two mice on and off potential senolytic remedy, “Which mouse do you need to be?” After I requested Dr. Sylow if the TNIK knockout mice seemed in any method youthful than the wild sort and she or he talked about that their fur clearly seemed higher. Properly, I prefer to eat high-fat high-sugar meals and I prefer to be energetic at night time. I do need to be the TNIK KO mouse. However determining how TNIK regulates metabolism goes to take substantial effort and we have to see if the medicine which can be secure and selectively inhibit TNIK produce related results because the TNIK knockout.

As the sector of medical analysis continues to evolve, the invention of TNIK’s position in stopping fats accumulation whereas sustaining muscle mass stands as a beacon of hope. The search for an answer that provides the perfect of each worlds – indulgence with out consequence and well being with out compromise – stays an thrilling and ongoing journey.

Within the coming years we should always see extra curiosity and analysis on TNIK because it scored in six hallmarks of aging as a therapeutic goal and scored excessive in fibrotic ailments in addition to in metabolic ailments. Within the meantime, one of the simplest ways to construct muscle and shed some pounds is train and nutritious diet. Let’s not lower too many corners earlier than secure and efficient weight reduction medicine that don’t trigger muscle losing turn out to be obtainable.

Dr. Lykke is more likely to current this and different work from her lab through the 11th ARDD in Copenhagen, so if you need to be taught extra about shedding fats, gaining muscle, and doubtlessly residing longer and higher with the assistance of credible science and biotechnology, welcome to Copenhagen this coming August. In 2023, Dr. Kristen Fortney, co-founder and CEO of BioAge Labs, the panel featured Dr. Benjamin Yaden, Vice President at Eli Lilly, and Dr. Erik Vernet, Senior Director at Novo Nordisk engaged in a fruitful debate covering a range of topics from utilizing getting old analysis for drug discovery and the potential of GLP1s. We count on to have related debates to transpire in 2024.

1. Proof on GLP-1 medicine and muscle loss stays murky, Brian Buntz, Drug Discovery and Improvement, November 27, 2023, https://www.drugdiscoverytrends.com/glp-1-impact-lean-mass/

2. Continued Therapy With Tirzepatide for Upkeep of Weight Discount in Adults With Weight problems: The SURMOUNT-4 Randomized Scientific Trial. JAMA. Printed on-line December 11, 2023. doi:10.1001/jama.2023.24945

3. Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1): a intestine hormone of potential curiosity within the remedy of diabetes. Bioessays. 1998 Aug;20(8):642-51. doi: 10.1002/(SICI)1521-1878(199808)20:8<642::AID-BIES7>3.0.CO;2-Okay. PMID: 9780839.

4. Muscle-strengthening actions are related to decrease threat and mortality in main non-communicable ailments: a scientific evaluate and meta-analysis of cohort research, BMJ, June 16, 2022 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2021-105061

5. Weight-loss medicine like Ozempic and Wegovy could also be dangerous for older individuals as a result of they soften away all-important muscle tissues, specialists say, Fortune, September 28, 2023, https://fortune.com/nicely/2023/09/27/weight-loss-drugs-ozempic-wegovy-risks-for-people-over-65/

6. Hallmarks of aging-based dual-purpose illness and age-associated targets predicted utilizing PandaOmics AI-powered discovery engine, Growing older, March 2022, https://doi.org/10.18632/aging.203960

Alex Zhavoronkov, PhD is a CEO of Insilico Drugs, which has a TNIK inhibitor in Phase II clinical studies for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), after finishing Section I security research, and Section 0, and nominated preclinical candidates for kidney fibrosis.