New research into weight loss drugs and diabetes will be unveiled this week in Ballarat.
Victoria University PhD researcher Anna Roy is presenting the latest findings from her research at the Rotary Club of Ballarat South this Thursday night, to acknowledge that organisation's funding of her ongoing project.
Ms Roy will unveil the promising results of her research showing how targeting a specific muscle receptor may hold the key to weight loss and lead to health improvements for those suffering obesity and Type Two Diabetes.
"My studies target this receptor in the muscle with pharmacological compounds to produce weight loss," she said. "Tests showed that activating this receptor reduced body fat by 4% over a six week treatment period."
A receptor is a molecule, usually found on the surface of a cell, which receives chemical signals from outside the cell to perform an action.
Ms Roy said it was promising to see this method for targeting weight loss drugs producing such positive results, and hoped after further research it could eventually lead to a weight loss medication prescribed by doctors.
The research is also analysing the effect various dietary fatty acids (saturated, polyunsaturated and monounsaturated) have on this receptor and whether changing diets to include more or less of these fatty acids would be beneficial, she said.
Ms Roy is continuing her research to understand precisely how the compound produces these results. She thanked the Rotary Club of Ballarat South, Australian Rotary Health and her PhD supervisor at Victoria University, Associate Professor Andrew McAinch, for their ongoing support.
