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Science & Technology
Pill that tricks you into losing weight
2006-12-27
An obesity pill which can help women drop two dress sizes in a year has been hailed by scientists after stunning test results. The drug fools the body's metabolism into staying active, cutting weight by 12 per cent in under a year.

For a 12 and a half stone woman, this would mean shedding 21lb - or two dress sizes. The pill, Excalia, is said to work better and faster than existing drugs. A course of one a day could have a dramatic effect on quality of life and cut the risk of heart disease, diabetes and cancer.

Excalia will need official approval before being made available on the NHS. But a successful weight-reduction pill would be a major attraction for a health service-which spends £1billion a year on obesity-related problems.
Posted by:.com

#9  "Hang in there"

Shouldn't this comment be in the Sad-ass thread, #3 Ship? ;-p
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut   2006-12-27 21:14  

#8  Hang in there Rob.
Posted by: Shipman   2006-12-27 14:25  

#7  Ha ha. You tricked me! I lost 20 lbs. Got me that time!
Posted by: Choluting Sholuling3299   2006-12-27 14:10  

#6  Does this mean I'll eventually be able to see my... hum, feet again when I'm standing up?
Posted by: anonymous5089   2006-12-27 13:18  

#5  So get us some samples, whydoncha, lol...
Posted by: .com   2006-12-27 11:43  

#4  The drugs are already demonstrated safe. Excalia is a combination of bupropion (Wellbutrin, Zyban), an anti-depressant, and zonisamide (Zonegran), an anti-seizure medication. Both are FDA-approved for their respective indications, and in practice both have reasonable (not perfect) safety profiles.

If additional clinical trials bear this out, not only does it mean that one could stimulate considerable weight loss in at least some patients, but it would open the door to other combinations of similar drugs. The company that makes Excalia is also testing a combination of bupropion and naltrexone, an anti-opiod used in treating opiate overdose, for weight loss as well.

Very interesting.
Posted by: Steve White   2006-12-27 11:33  

#3  Neville Rigby, of the International Obesity Task Force, said: 'There is no magic bullet. There are products which can help weight loss but people also need to help themselves in terms of diet and activity.'

Well, hell yeah. But under Weight Watchers, dropping 10% of your initial weight is a big deal; if there were a way to avoid the inevitable plateau and all the fricking discouragement that accompany them, AND help you drop another 10% or so, then it's a HUGE deal.

So long as the drug tests out safe (or even just relatively so), this is a big break-through. Now just watch the press turn it into a cure-all, then trumpet every associated side-effect as if it's a guaranteed death, then pump the lawsuits against the manufacturers.
Posted by: Rob Crawford   2006-12-27 09:46  

#2  Cause you like 'em half stoned wymens?
Posted by: HalfEmpty   2006-12-27 08:21  

#1  Why does that picture excite me?
Posted by: Skidmark   2006-12-27 07:43  

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