Latest medication news

http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20100714...deeffectsstudy

This article caught my eye because it mentions serotonin and that's
something Susan stresses. Whether it pans out or not (none of the
previous ones have lasted) increased study of how serotonin levels
interact with diet will be a good thing.

Here's a short exerpt ...

By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter by Steven Reinberg
healthday Reporter – 27 mins ago

WEDNESDAY, July 14 (HealthDay News) -- A weight-loss pill called
lorcaserin not only helps people drop pounds but does so with few side
effects, new industry-funded research reports.

A potential player in fighting the obesity epidemic, lorcaserin is a
new type of weight-loss drug that works by acting on serotonin, a
chemical associated with feelings of well-being and feeling full, and
does not appear to increase blood pressure or cause any other heart
problems, according to the researchers, whose work was sponsored by the
drug manufacturer.

In article ,
Doug Freyburger wrote:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20100714...ghtwithfewside
effectsstudy

This article caught my eye because it mentions serotonin and that's
something Susan stresses. Whether it pans out or not (none of the
previous ones have lasted) increased study of how serotonin levels
interact with diet will be a good thing.

Here's a short exerpt ...

By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter by Steven Reinberg
healthday Reporter – 27 mins ago

WEDNESDAY, July 14 (HealthDay News) -- A weight-loss pill called
lorcaserin not only helps people drop pounds but does so with few side
effects, new industry-funded research reports.

A potential player in fighting the obesity epidemic, lorcaserin is a
new type of weight-loss drug that works by acting on serotonin, a
chemical associated with feelings of well-being and feeling full, and
does not appear to increase blood pressure or cause any other heart
problems, according to the researchers, whose work was sponsored by the
drug manufacturer.

Watcha' doin' Doug? Tryin' to commit suicide by newsgroup? I suspect
that the participants ate a low fat diet, since that seems to be
institutional wisdom, and the report was sponsored by Arena
Pharmaceuticals, of San Diego, Calif., which used its own doctors as
part of the study group. Serotonin or not, I don't think Susan will be
amused by the pill taking verses diet approach to weight loss.

"What's most impressive about this two-year clinical trial is how
unimpressive it is," said Dr. David L. Katz, director of the Prevention
Research Center at Yale University School of Medicine.

Nearly half of the people dropped out in the first year, he pointed out,
and by year two, more than half the remainder had also dropped out.
"Among those who remained, lorcaserin produced relatively modest weight
loss when combined with diet and exercise counseling, and that weight
loss was maintained in over half of the participants only so long as
they kept taking the drug. And the paper made no mention of the costs
attached to long-term pharmacotherapy," Katz added.

"This close look at lorcaserin reaffirms that better daily use of feet
and forks holds far greater promise for meaningful, sustainable and
affordable weight control than pharmacotherapy," Katz said.
-----

There you go, they lost a little weight, and they didn't go completely
nuts. An unqualified success, sorta ;O)
--
- Billy
"Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the
merger of state and corporate power." - Benito Mussolini.
http://www.democracynow.org/2010/7/2/maude
http://www.democracynow.org/2010/6/2...al_crime_scene

Billy wrote:

Watcha' doin' Doug? Tryin' to commit suicide by newsgroup?

Chortle. Serotonin is a part of the metabolic puzzle. With no
expectations that a drug about it, the simple fact that it is seeing
studies is a good thing.

I suspect
that the participants ate a low fat diet, since that seems to be
institutional wisdom, and the report was sponsored by Arena
Pharmaceuticals, of San Diego, Calif., which used its own doctors as
part of the study group.

The report didn't list their diet type. I considered the study too
early in any development cycle for that to matter. I saw it as a first
step in a learning process so I was not worried about that.

Serotonin or not, I don't think Susan will be
amused by the pill taking verses diet approach to weight loss.

Lot's of people want a magic pill that burns away the fat. The
pharmaceutical industry absolutely wants such a pill. I get that very
many of the folks reading the article wondered if it might lead to such
a product. I think all or most of the long term regulars on ASDLC have
seen pills making such claims come and go and we'd expect the next in
the line to follow the same pattern. The regulars here have extra
skepticism based on that experience and I knew that. And so that's not
why I found the topic of potential interest. To me if I learn how to
control the hormone by non-medical means that's the interesting part.

Serotonin is a topic she has expressed interest in and it is a hormone
that is a part of the low carb puzzle. That's why I'm interested.

I've seen complaints that low carbing is associated with lowered
serotonin levels, that lowered serotonin causes anxiety and that's why
low carbing is bad. To me that's just another example of why staying at
20 more than two weeks is not optimal. Susan has urged folks to get
their serotonin levels checked.

Once there's awareness that a hormone is involved in carb metabolism
there is study of it, study of meds to effect it, and eventually study
of how to effect it through diet. I don't see this proposed new med as
an end of its own. I see it as a step in that process.

"What's most impressive about this two-year clinical trial is how
unimpressive it is," said Dr. David L. Katz, director of the Prevention
Research Center at Yale University School of Medicine.

That too. But I'm not looking at it in terms of how well it works as a
magic pill to make fat disappear.

In article ,
Doug Freyburger wrote:

Billy wrote:

Watcha' doin' Doug? Tryin' to commit suicide by newsgroup?

Chortle. Serotonin is a part of the metabolic puzzle. With no
expectations that a drug about it, the simple fact that it is seeing
studies is a good thing.
Yeah, maybe, just call me suspicious. People who pay for studies usually
get the information that they want. I'm happier that Arena
Pharmaceuticals' (a drug manufacturer) doctors are part of the test,
rather than some poor unfortunate lab rats. They seem to be looking at
it as a magic pill that will let you continue eating crap (the ideal
product), and lose weight at the same time.

http://consumer.healthday.com/Article.asp?AID=641132
"Among those who remained (1/4), lorcaserin produced relatively modest
weight loss when combined with diet and exercise counseling, and that
weight loss was maintained in over half of the participants only so long
as they kept taking the drug. And the paper made **no mention of the
costs** attached to long-term pharmacotherapy," Katz added." (emphasis
mine)

"This close look at lorcaserin reaffirms that better daily use of feet
and forks holds far greater promise for meaningful, sustainable and
affordable weight control than pharmacotherapy," Katz said."

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/weightcontrol.html

I suspect
that the participants ate a low fat diet, since that seems to be
institutional wisdom, and the report was sponsored by Arena
Pharmaceuticals, of San Diego, Calif., which used its own doctors as
part of the study group.

The report didn't list their diet type. I considered the study too
early in any development cycle for that to matter. I saw it as a first
step in a learning process so I was not worried about that.

Serotonin or not, I don't think Susan will be
amused by the pill taking verses diet approach to weight loss.

Lot's of people want a magic pill that burns away the fat. The
pharmaceutical industry absolutely wants such a pill. I get that very
many of the folks reading the article wondered if it might lead to such
a product. I think all or most of the long term regulars on ASDLC have
seen pills making such claims come and go and we'd expect the next in
the line to follow the same pattern. The regulars here have extra
skepticism based on that experience and I knew that. And so that's not
why I found the topic of potential interest. To me if I learn how to
control the hormone by non-medical means that's the interesting part.

Serotonin is a topic she has expressed interest in and it is a hormone
that is a part of the low carb puzzle. That's why I'm interested.

I've seen complaints that low carbing is associated with lowered
serotonin levels, that lowered serotonin causes anxiety and that's why
low carbing is bad. To me that's just another example of why staying at
20 more than two weeks is not optimal. Susan has urged folks to get
their serotonin levels checked.

Once there's awareness that a hormone is involved in carb metabolism
there is study of it, study of meds to effect it, and eventually study
of how to effect it through diet. I don't see this proposed new med as
an end of its own. I see it as a step in that process.

"What's most impressive about this two-year clinical trial is how
unimpressive it is," said Dr. David L. Katz, director of the Prevention
Research Center at Yale University School of Medicine.

That too. But I'm not looking at it in terms of how well it works as a
magic pill to make fat disappear.
OK, then I'll put the "Tang" back.
--
- Billy
"Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the
merger of state and corporate power." - Benito Mussolini.
http://www.democracynow.org/2010/7/2/maude
http://www.democracynow.org/2010/6/2...al_crime_scene

Billy wrote:
Doug Freyburger wrote:

Chortle. Serotonin is a part of the metabolic puzzle. With no
expectations that a drug about it, the simple fact that it is seeing
studies is a good thing.

Yeah, maybe, just call me suspicious. People who pay for studies usually
get the information that they want. I'm happier that Arena
Pharmaceuticals' (a drug manufacturer) doctors are part of the test,
rather than some poor unfortunate lab rats. They seem to be looking at
it as a magic pill that will let you continue eating crap (the ideal
product), and lose weight at the same time.

Sure they want a magic pill. The ones that have come out in the past
made money befor ethey crashed. If they find one that lasts it will
make billions. But I expect them to crash.

There are hormones that are effected by low carbing and I want a dietary
strategy to control them. Consider that metaformin and other meds
influence insulin levels but that can be done (for folks not diabetic)
by reducing carb intake. Consider that leptin is injected by the folks
at Lindora Medical diet clinic but it can be influenced by changing fat
to protein ratio in the diet.

Serotonin seems to be a limiting factor for some low carbers. Learning
dietary strategies to control it without using medications would be a
good thing, though as with diabetics and reducing carb to improve
insulin levels it's likely to only work for most folks not all.

Insulin, T3, leptin, serotonin are all parts of the low carb puzzle.
And more that I don't know about yet.