A European and American study on a new synthetic drug found that it protected laboratory mice from diet-induced obesity and its potential consequences like glucose intolerance and insensitivity to insulin by activating an enzyme that promoted fat consumption and exercise endurance, leading to suggestions that it could be an important new weapon in the fight against obesity and diabetes.

The study was led by professor Johan Auwerx of the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland and the experimental new drug, SRT1720, is made by Sirtris, a company based in Cambridge, Massachusets that was acquired by GlaxoSmithKline earlier this year. The findings are published in the 5 November issue of Cell Metabolism.

SRT1720 activated the SIRT1 enzyme pathway and protected the mice from diet-induced obesity and its negative metabolic consequences primarily by increasing fat consumption in skeletal muscle, liver, and brown adipose tissue. It also improved glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity and enhanced exercise by making better use of fat in certain tissues said the researchers in a press statement.

Other studies have shown that reducing calorie consumption to 80 per cent of the body's daily requirement can slow down ageing, improve exercise endurance and protect against diet-related diseases like obesity and diabetes…