Axokine causes weight loss of 10.1 lbs in three months

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Friday, September 10, 2004 6:27 am Email this article
Axokine caused morbidly obese people to lose an average of 10.1 pounds in three months according to a recent study.

This compared to a weight gain of 1.3 pounds for the placebo group.

The drug must be injected

The drug was not taken as a tablet, but rather had to injected.

Optimal dose 1 microgram per kg of bodyweight

The optimal dose was 1 microgram per kg of bodyweight. (A microgram is one-thousands of a mg, in other words 0.001 mg.)

Side effects: In general, it was well-tolerated

In general, it was well-tolerated.

The most common side effects were irritation were the drug was injected, nausea, cough and headache. Cough was reported in 39 percent of patients given 2 mcg per kg of body weight.

Subjects: 170 people

The study involved 170 people that were randomized to one of four groups, either placebo or one of three doses of Axokine.

What is Axokine?

Axokine is a drug being developing by the drug company Regeneron Pharmaceuticals for the potential treatment of obesity according to their website.

Axokine is a modified form of a naturally occurring protein, called Ciliary Neurotrophic Factor which signals the satiety center of the brain to decrease food intake.

REFERENCE

Guler H, Ettinger M, Littlejohn T, Schwartz S, Weiss S, Mcllwain H, Heymsfield S, Bray G, Roberts W, Acheson A, Heyman E, Dark C, Vicary C. Axokine?? causes significant weight loss in severely and morbidly obese subjects. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 2001 May, 25(Suppl 2):S111 (abstract P291).

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