Banned Weight Loss Drug Might Combat Disease

DNP was a weight loss pill banned by scientists after deeming it unfit for human consumption. This compound was banned by the end of last decade by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). However, DNP has some virtues and the researchers are striving to design a model to hold on to its advantages. After some fine tuning, it may now be effective in turning around type-2 diabetes. Clinical trials are being explored to further investigate this drug and it could release promising, new avenues for people with these conditions.

Obesity is a growing pandemic. Excess fat accumulates in places which are not directly visible, such as the liver. In some people, fat can build up in the liver cells, leading to a range of conditions collectively called non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. This condition might go unnoticed and may be harmless but it can cause a condition known as non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), where the excess fat damages the liver cells and causes inflammation. There are no treatments for NASH and it can lead to liver failure and cancer. This is one of the biggest needs in medicine today, which led to the development of this banned weight loss drug.

The main advantage of this banned weight loss drug is its fat burning properties, by modifying the activity of energy making cells, called mitochondria. It may correct defective liver metabolism of glucose and reduce fat buildup. It was found to increase insulin sensitivity, provided the insulin resistance was associated with NAFLD. It is a major factor of pathogenesis of type-2 diabetes.

Some of the scientists at Yale University altered a version of DNP that is active in the liver and reduces undesired effects on other parts of the body, when rats were fed this drug daily. It not only improved blood sugar levels but reversed fatty liver and also improved insulin sensitivity and slashed their lipids levels by 90%. DNP was also observed to reduce scarring in rats, which can eventually lead to liver failure. This version of this banned weight loss drug had one-tenth toxicity of the unmodified version and reduced liver fats in the rat model of NAFLD.

Banned medicines have made a return in the market earlier. DNP can also make a comeback and can be approved by the FDA ,despite its history, if it’s shown to be safe and effective in additional trials.