Wonder pill that makes you skinny WITHOUT dieting moves one step closer to reality

Scientists are one step closer to developing the holy grail of weight-loss drugs — a pill that makes users slim without dieting or exercising.

They have trialed an early version of the treatment — currently as an injectable — in mice who were put on a junk food plan that mimicked the worst of Western diets.

Rodents given the shot did not gain weight even though they were eating food high in fat, sugar and calories, while their risk of health problems linked to poor diets also went down.

The drug’s makers, from the University of Texas, told DailyMail.com today they are developing a pill version of the drug and hope to start human trials this year.

The drug — named CPACC — is a small molecule that works by inhibiting the uptake of magnesium by mitochondria in cells.

The team is now looking to patent the drug, but warn it may still be years before it reaches pharmacies. 

Dr Madesh Muniswamy, a cardiologist at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio who led the research, told DailyMail.com: ‘Our next step is to conduct some pharmacokinetics prior to human pilot studies.

‘We did not see any adverse effects. In particular, liver and cardiac functions were normal after administration of the drug twice a week by injection.

‘We are seeking volunteers and private funding to conduct such trials. But this will be in the next six months to a year.’

Mice eating a high-fat western diet were administered the ‘wonder drug’ once every three days for six weeks.

As well as maintaining their weight, the researchers also suggested the mice may have a lower risk of heart disease, stroke and fatty liver disease.

They said that this was because the drug was preventing obesity, which is a key risk factor for these conditions.

Mitochondria are the powerhouses of cells and work by producing energy to drive their chemical reaction.

A key part of this process is magnesium, which helps to reduce damage to mitochondria and drive their energy-producing reactions.

But researchers say that when there is too much of the element in the cells it can actually ‘put the brakes on’ energy production.

To test whether reducing mitochondrial magnesium levels can cause weight loss, researchers initially gene-edited mice to make it harder for mitochondria to take up magnesium.

They found that even when the tweaked mice were on a high-fat western diet they remained slim.

To mimic this result, researchers then designed a drug that could block the uptake of magnesium by mitochondria.

In the latest study, published in Cell Reports, mice were fed on a high-fat western diet (composed of 40 percent fat) or a chow diet (17 percent fat).

After 20 weeks on the diet, mice were then administered either the drug or a placebo.

These were given every three days for another six weeks.

Results showed that mice who got the injections did not gain weight even while on the high-fat western diet.

Dr Muniswamy said that reducing the amount of magnesium in mitochondria had removed the brakes from them.

This meant they were able to manufacture and, hence, burn more energy, helping them to avoid weight gain.

‘They all become slim,’ he said.

‘A drug that can reduce the risk of cardiometabolic diseases such as heart attack and stroke, and also reduce the incidence of liver cancer, which can follow fatty liver disease, will make a huge impact.

‘We will continue its development.’