New drugs offer hope to obese patients

Medications to treat obesity are making important advances, according to a number of new studies presented here, both in the main meeting and in the Satellite symposia.

Early studies with leptin demonstrate the potential of this agent for the treatment of obesity. However, it is important to emphasize the preliminary nature of these findings.

Other studies involving sibutramine and orlistat further confirm their clinical benefits. However, it was emphasized several times during the meeting that it is important to remember that if medications are used to treat obesity they should only be used as part of a comprehensive weight management program that includes lifestyle modifications.

In the leptin study, investigators from the US gave the agent to 53 lean and 70 obese people for one month. Forty-six obese subjects received leptin for six months. Results from the study show that administering leptin at high doses caused significant weight loss. One especially striking finding was that the leptin-induced weight loss was due almost entirely to a decrease in body fat mass with little loss of lean tissue.

There were several papers and posters on both sibutramine and orlistat presented during the meeting; we will keep on reviewing their findings in these and other APIMALL -related pages!

Scientists challenge officials to confront the problem of childhood and adolescent obesity

A worldwide epidemic of childhood obesity is being led by the United States. About one-quarter of US children are overweight. Yet there are few concerted efforts to do anything about it.

Several presentations here today showed the innovative approaches currently being used to fight childhood obesity in different countries. Researchers from England, Germany and Japan provided details on separate health promotion programs in their countries targeting obese children, their families, and their schools. One French program uses a computer game to educate children about nutrition.

Childhood obesity is caused by many factors. Children with obese parents are themselves more likely to be obese, but that doesn't mean obesity is entirely caused by genes. The children share the same genes as their parents, but they also sit at the same table.

Scientific highlights of the day include:

Meet-the-Professor & Tutorial Session
Oral
Plenary Lectures

Meet-the-Professor & Tutorial Session

Chairperson : J.P. GIACOBINO ( SWITZERLAND )

08:00 - Salle Ambroisie

Adrenergic receptors in brown and white adipocytes (structure, functions and regulations)
M. Lafontan
( Toulouse, France )

Chairperson : L. PENICAUD ( FRANCE )

08:00 - Salle Donatello

Animal models of obesity : hypothalamic lesions
S. Inoue
( Tokyo, Japan )

Chairperson : M.J. DEVLIN ( USA )

08:00 - Amphithéâtre Diderot

Measuring real world eating behavior
J.M. De Castro
( Atlanta, Ga, USA )

Chairperson : J.P. RIOU ( FRANCE )

08:00 - Salle Doppler

Assessment of substrate - energy metabolism
M. Elia
( Cambridge, United-Kingdom )

Chairperson : X. FORMIGUERA ( SPAIN )

08:00 - Salle Andrews

Cardiac adaptations in obese subjects with or without hypertension : therapeutic implications
A. Wirth
( Bad Rothenfelde, Germany )

Chairperson : R. ATKINSON ( USA )

08:00 - Amphithéâtre Goethe

Drug therapy of obesity and public health
P.G. Kopelman
( London, United-Kingdom )

Oral

Adipose tissue : biology and development
Regulation of food intake III
Uncoupling proteins : regulatory aspects
Insulin resistance
Children and adolescents : management
Drugs in development

11:45-13:15
Salle Andrews
Adipose tissue : biology and development

Chairpersons : T. KAWADA ( JAPAN ), M. LAFONTAN ( FRANCE )

11:45
Tumor necrosis factor-alpha induces apoptosis in rat brown adipocytes
E. Nisoli, L. Briscini, C. Tonello, M.O. Carruba
( Milano, Italy )

12:00
Drug induced apoptosis in white adipocytes
P. Abolhasan, M.R. Wilson, P.A. Keller, S.G. Pyne, A.J. Hodgson
( Wollongong, Australia )

12:15
P2X1-purinoceptors for extracellular nucleotides in adipose tissue
J. Dammeier, M. Schmidt, C. Renner, G. Löffler
( Regensburg, Germany )

12:30
Role of adipocyte and pancreas intracellular calcium in agouti-induced obesity
M.B. Zemel, B. Xue, W.O. Wilkison, N. Moustaid-Moussa, R.L. Mynatt
( Knoxville, USA )

12:45
Differences in free fatty acid uptake in differentiated preadipocytes from different anatomic regions
F. Caserta, V. Civelek, J.A. Hamilton, J.L. Kirkland, B.E. Corkey
( Boston, Ma, USA )

13:00
Evidence for an association of an obesity virus with human obesity at three sites in the United States
R.L. Atkinson, N.V. Dhurandhar, D.B. Allison, R. Bowen, B.E. Israel
( Madison Wisconsin, USA )

11:45-13:15
Amphithéâtre Diderot
Regulation of food intake III

Chairpersons : R. CONE ( USA ), A. STRICKER-KRONGRAD ( USA )

11:45
Dose response relationship of the anorectic effects of amylin and CGRP injected into the lateral brain ventricle
T.A. Lutz, J. Althaus, E. Del Prete, E. Scharrer
( Zurich, Switzerland )

12:00
Effects of single doses and 8-day ICV infusion of orexins-A and -B on food intake in rats
A.C. Haynes, B. Jackson, S.D. Holmes, R.E. Buckingham, S. Wilson, M. Yanagisawa, J.R.S. Arch
( Harlow, United-Kingdom )

12:15
Melanocortin system plays a pivotal role in leptin actions on energy homeostasis
N. Satoh, Y. Ogawa, G. Katsuura, Y. Numata, H. Masuzaki, K. Nakao
( Kyoto, Japan )

12:30
Ontogenesis of the lipid preference and the central expression of Galanin. Comparative study in the Brattleboro and long Evans rats
M. Odorizzi, B. Fernette, J.P. Max, C. Burlet, P. Tankosic, A. Burlet
( Nancy, France )

12:45
Overweight, hyperphagia and metabolic disorders due to early postnatal overnutrition are associated with increased expression of galanin in the arcuate hypothalamic nucleus in rats
T. Harder, A. Rake, K. Melchior, M. Voits, H. Fink, G. Dörner, W. Rohde, A. Plagemann
( Berlin, Germany )

13:00
Urocortin in the paraventricular nucleus of the rat decreases nocturnal feeding
C.M. Kotz, D.T. Weldon, A.S. Levine, C.J. Billington
( Minneapolis, Mn, USA )

11:45-13:15
Salle Donatello
Uncoupling proteins : regulatory aspects

Chairpersons : J. HIMMS-HAGEN ( CANADA ), W. PATSCH ( AUSTRIA )

11:45
Effects of leptin and corticosterone on the expression of UCP-1 mRNA in brown adipose tissue
K. Arvaniti, D. Ricquier, O. Champigny, F. Picard, D. Richard
( Quebec, Canada )

12:00
Effects of chronic central or peripheral leptin infusion on glucose metabolism and expression of uncoupling proteins (UCPs)
I. Cusin, K.E. Zakrzewska, O. Boss, P. Muzzin, J.P. Giacobino, D. Ricquier, B. Jeanrenaud, F. Rohner-Jeanrenaud
( Geneva 14, Switzerland )

12:15
Reduced UCP-2 mRNA expression levels in intraperitoneal adipose tissue of obese humans
H. Oberkofler, Y.M. Liu, H. Esterbauer, E. Hell, F. Krempler, W. Patsch
( Salzburg, Austria )

12:30
Relationship between uncoupling protein 2 mRNA expression and resting metabolic rate in obese women
P. Barbe, L. Millet, D. Larrouy, J. Galitzky, M. Berlan, J.P. Louvet, D. Langin
( Toulouse, France )

12:45
Skeletal muscle uncoupling protein-2 (UCP2) content is increased in subjects maintaining a 10% reduction in body weight
J.A. Simoneau, M. Rosenbaum, M. Neverova, J. Hirsch, R.L. Leibel, C.H. Warden
( Ste-Foy, Québec, Canada )

13:00
UCP3 expression in skeletal muscle and free fatty acids in obese humans
O. Boss, E. Bobbioni-Harsch, F. Assimacopoulos-Jeannet, P. Muzzin, R. Münger, J.P. Giacobino, A. Golay
( Geneva 14, Switzerland )

11:45-13:15
Salle Doppler
Insulin resistance

Chairpersons : I. CATERSON ( AUSTRALIA ), L. LEITER ( CANADA )

11:45
Variation in calorie requirement to maintain a reduced body weight is directly related to insulin sensitivity
N.L. Bodkin, H.K. Ortmeyer, B.C. Hansen
( Baltimore, Md, USA )

12:00
Peripheral lipodystrophy, dyslipidaemia and insulin resistance with HIV protease inhibitor therapy
K. Samaras, A. Carr, D. Cooper, D.J. Chisholm
( Darlinghurst, Australia ) - ( Sydney, Australia )

12:15
Effects of two years of dietary restriction on insulin receptor mRNA splicing in muscle of rhesus monkeys
Z. Huang, R. Weindruch, J. Kemnitz
( Madison, Wi, USA )

12:30
The subcutaneous adipose tissue expression of TNF-alpha is not related to obesity or insulin resistance in humans
H.A. Koistinen, V.A. Koivisto, P. Ebeling, P. Vallier, S. Perche, J.P. Riou, M. Laville, H. Vidal
( Helsinki, Finland )

12:45
Diminished utilization of plasma fatty acids in skeletal muscle of obese type 2 diabetes subjects during rest and catecholamine stimulation
E.E. Blaak, A.J.M. Wagenmakers, B.H.R. Wolffenbuttel, C. Langeberg, G.A.K. Heidendal
( Maastricht, The Netherlands )

13:00
Defects in the acute regulation of gene expression by insulin in overweighted type-2 diabetic patients
M. Laville, F. Andreelli, S. Perche, P. Vallier, J.P. Riou, H. Vidal
( Lyon, France )

11:45-13:15
Amphithéâtre Goethe
Children and adolescents : management

Chairpersons : J. HEBEBRAND ( GERMANY ), J. NAVARRO ( FRANCE )

11:45
Apples : a school-based intervention to reduce obesity risk factors
P. Sahota, M.C.J. Rudolf, R. Dixey, A.J. Hill, J.H. Barth
( Leeds, United-Kingdom )

12:00
Learning good eating habits by playing computer games at school : perspectives for education of obese children
M.C. Turnin, M. Tauber, O. Couvaras, B. Jouret, C. Pène, M. Gayrard, D. Fabre, A. Rouzaud, J.P. Tauber
( Toulouse Cedex, France )

12:15
A new mode of therapy for obese children in Japan
K. Asayama, N. Uchida, H. Hayashibe, K. Dobashi, T. Nakane, K. Kodera, S. Nakazawa
( Yamanashi, Japan )

12:30
Sports and nutrition - an outpatient program for obese children
U. Korsten-Reck, B. Wolfarth, A. Berg, J. Keul
( Freiburg, Germany )

12:45
Initial obesity level impacts long term weight maintenance in obese youth
U. Blecker, M. Sothern, J. Udall, K. Von Almen, H. Schumacher, J. Hargis, R. Suskind
( New Orleans, USA )

13:00
Follow-up of severely obese adolescents after long-term inpatient treatment
W. Siegfried, A. Siegfried, A. Ziegler, J. Hebebrand
( Strub/Bischofsw., Germany )

11:45-13:15
Salle Ambroisie
Drugs in development

Chairpersons : M. CAWTHORNE ( UNITED-KINGDOM ), G. GONZALEZ-BARRANCO ( MEXICO )

11:45
The pharmacokinetics and acute effects of LY355101, a novel antiobesity protein, in healthy volunteers
J.R. Woodworth, D.C. Howey, R.R. Bowsher, M.E. Trautmann, J. Caro
( Indianapolis In, USA )

12:00
Gamma-linolenate reduces weight regain following weight loss by very low calorie diet in humans
S. Phinney, M. Schirmer, D. Metz, A. Tang
( Sacramento, USA )

12:15
The effects of CL 316.243, a selective beta3-adrenoceptor agonist, on energy expenditure, substrate oxidation and body composition in man
C. Weyer, P.A. Tataranni, E. Ravussin
( Phoenix, Az, USA )

12:30
Growth hormone (GH) administration to obese subjects during a very-low calorie diet (VLCD) : Effects on body composition and protein metabolism
J.D. Borglum, H. Norrelund, K. Kristensen, J.O.L. Jorgensen, B. Richelsen
( Aarhus, Denmark )

12:45
Lack of effect of lipase inhibition with Orlistat on colonic cell turnover in obese subject
D. Pace, R. Guerciolini, M. Wargovich, C. Woods, D. Anhem
( Nutley, USA )

13:00
Sibutramine enhances weight loss in obese hypertensive patients taking angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors
K. Fujioka, S.P. Weinstein, E. Rowe, F.G. Mc Mahon
( San Diego Ca, USA )

Plenary Lectures

09:00-11:15
Amphitéâtre Léonard de Vinci
Advances in energy metabolism and substrate trafficking

Chairpersons : J.O. HILL ( USA ), L. TAPPY ( SWITZERLAND )

09:00
Body energy store management during fasting and recovery : a systemic approach
L. Girardier
( Geneva 4, Switzerland )

09:35
Directing substrate trafficking in the regulation of adipose mass
R.H. Eckel
( Denver, USA )

10:10
Visceral obesity, from gene to diseases
Y. Matsuzawa
( Suita, Japan )

10:45
Hypothalamic CART is a new anorectic peptide regulated by leptin
P. Kristensen
( , Denmark )