o> New Obesity Treatment May Lessen The Freight of the Overweight (NAPSA)—This year, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated that 6 out of 10 Americans wereeither overweight or obese and that the numberof severely obese Americans quadrupled from 1 in 200 to 1 in 50 people between 1986 and 2000. Weight loss has become big business as Americans fight the growing obesity epidemic and the enormous economic burden it has placed on our national budget. In insurance and health care and elsewhere—poundscost. The CDC now reports that overweight and obesity is the second leading cause of preventable death in the United States. Losing weight can improve overall health by lowering the risk for diabetes, heart disease and cancer, but it’s rarely easy—and for some people it may seem impossible. However, new research examining how the appetite is regulated may offer a new tool to help ease weightloss. Studies have shown that the body’s fat tissue naturally produces a molecule called oleoyl estrone (OE). In people of normal weight, blood levels of OE are directly correlated to the level of their body fat stores. In contrast, in the obese, circulating levels of OE fall below those predicted by the body fat correlation. Based on the notion that OE might be acting as a natural signaling molecule between body fat and the brain’s appetite center, scientists have hypothesized that restoring the predicted natural levels of OE in obese patients will reduce appetite and cause weight loss. Results from extensive studies in obese rats have recently confirmed this hypothesis— OE admin- istration \ ' . —) ee x . By, 8 has been shown to dramatically decrease appetite and produce substantial loss of weight, YZ without any changes in diet or exer- @ cise. In these trials, OE wasalso safe and effective, with no evidence of rebound weight gain after treatment was discontinued. Adding to the accumulating evidence, the first ever, peerreviewed publication reporting a dramatic human weight loss response to OE wasrecently published in Medical Clinics (Bar- celona). This article documents the weight reduction associated with OE, orally administered over a 27-month period to a morbidly obese patient who was not placed on any dietary restrictions. A 22 percent loss in total body weight was demonstrated, without noted side effects. “With the obesity problem expanding worldwide, our Company’s potential role in meeting the needs of so many obese patients and their physicians is quite gratifying. We are very excited about the implications that OE treatment may havefor the future treatment of obesity,” said Dr. Leonard Firestone, President and CEO of Manhattan Pharmaceuticals. For more information on the treatment of obesity, log onto www.manhattanpharma.com.
