2024-08-21 12:14:41
Last year, the powers of semaglutidaknow how Ozempic. It is a drug for cancer patients, which has among its side effects reduce appetite. For this reason, many people have started to drink it freely, simply lose weight. The results have been disastrous, since in many countries where it can be bought without a prescription there has been a severe shortage, leaving those who really need it without a supply. But that is not the only problem. Ozempic has many other side effects for which it is not worth taking the risk if it is not strictly necessary. There are many scientists looking for an alternative. A medicine that is really aimed at reducing appetite. And why not? To prevent certain diseases.
And that is normal what has happened a team of scientists from Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences. They have developed a drug that suppresses appetite, like Ozempic, and also helps prevent Alzheimer’s.
It is important to note that at the moment they have only been tested cell cultures and laboratory animals. However, given the success of this first phase, they hope to soon begin clinical trials with humans. If you still work for them, we may not be looking at a very interesting alternative to Ozempic.
Ozempic versus CART
Semaglutide (Ozempic) is a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist. That means it mimics the hormone GLP-1, which is normally released in the digestive system as a result eating food. In response, the pancreas is stimulated to produce more insulin, which helps to take glucose from those foods from the blood and introduce it into the cells. But there is something else. Ozempic also works on those brain systems responsible for satiety. There is already enough food consumption, so, if it doesn’t let more glucose into the body, it pushes the brain so, simply, roughlytake away our hunger.
Ozempic works by inhibiting insulin production and regulating the brain’s satiety systems. Credit: Markus Winkler (Pexels)
Instead, what these Czech scientists have studied is something different. They focused on the study of CART, a peptide that is produced naturally in the brain and has anorexigenic action. That is, when it is initiated it reduces appetite.
Although it occurs naturally, sometimes the dose is not enough. Therefore, these scientists want to study how to synthesize it in the laboratory manage it exogenously. Unfortunately, if it is supplied from the outside it is impossible for it to reach the brain. It is necessary to solve this, so they continue to make a series of changes, joining the peptide to various lipid molecules that will make its way through blood brain barrier. This barrier is responsible for protecting the brain from external aggressions, but sometimes it can also be a headache to get certain drugs to reach it.
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Thanks to this change, scientists managed to allow CART to reach the brain and produce an anorexigenic effect. It does not have the same action as Ozempic, but the result will be the same: help reduce appetite.
How is Alzheimer’s protected?
The principles of CART are not completely clear yet. In fact, it is not even known exactly what it is receivers on which it works. However, the authors of this study discovered something interesting. And the fact is that, when administered exogenously, the level of pathogenic tau protein. This protein is normal in our nervous system. In fact, when the conformations are loaded, they grow compounds that are closely related to Alzheimer’s symptoms.
The problem is that tau proteins accumulate in Alzheimer’s disease.
Therefore, we found that with the administration of modified CART two goals can be achieved: reduce appetite and protect the brain from Alzheimer’s.
Mice treated with this peptide lost weight, as if they had received Ozempic. In addition, levels of the pathogenic tau protein were reduced in their brains. Those in the control group lost some weight and didn’t get that additional protection against Alzheimer’s.
These scientists also believe that both CART and other anorexigenic peptides They can help repair damaged brain tissue. It would be a much more interesting panacea than Ozempic. But will the side effects be as unpleasant as semaglutide? That remains to be seen, so let’s take this news with caution.
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