Pill burns fat without dieting or exercise

Health 28 April 2008

It sounds like the perfect remedy for modern life: a pill that simultaneously reduces both belly fat and blood pressure. And it may already exist.

High blood pressure is often treated with drugs called ACE inhibitors, which block angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE). ACE usually constricts blood vessels and so raises blood pressure. It is also expressed in fat cells, and previous studies had suggested that it might trigger fat accumulation.

To investigate exactly what ACE does, Michael Mathai of the Howard Florey Institute in Melbourne, Australia, and colleagues engineered mice to lack the ACE gene. These mice turned out to weigh 20% less than normal mice and had 50 to 60% less body fat, especially in the abdomen. The mice also cleared excess sugar from the blood faster, making them less prone to diabetes.

This suggests that mice lacking ACE can burn off excess energy without skimping on food or being more physically active. ACE “seems to increase fat storage and the creation of new fat cells”, says Mathai, adding that ACE inhibitors might therefore help people lose weight.
