A new study confirms that treatment with bimagrumab, an antibody that blocks type II activin receptors and stimulates the growth of skeletal muscle, is safe and effective for the treatment of excess adiposity and metabolic disorders in adult patients with obesity and type diabetes 2.
The research
“These exciting results suggest that there may be a novel mechanism for achieving weight loss with significant body fat loss and increased lean mass, along with other metabolic benefits,” said Steve Heymsfield, MD, FTOS, former president of The Obesity Society and corresponding author of the study. Heymsfield is also a professor and director of the Metabolism and Body Composition Laboratory at the Pennington Center for Biomedical Research in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
A total of 75 patients with type 2 diabetes, a body mass index between 28 and 40, and glycated hemoglobin A1c levels between 6.5 and 10% were recruited for the randomized phase 2 clinical trial. Patients were administered bimagrumab or a placebo (a dextrose solution) every 4 weeks for 48 weeks. Both groups received advice on diet and exercise. The research was conducted at nine locations in the United States and the United Kingdom from February 2017 to May 2019.
The results
At the end of the 48-week study, the researchers found a nearly 21% decrease in body fat in the bimagrumab group compared to 0.5% in the placebo group. The results also revealed that the bimagrumab group gained 3.6% of lean mass compared to a loss of 0.8% in the placebo group. The combined loss of total body fat and the increase in lean mass led to a net reduction in body weight of 6.5% in the patients who received bimagrumab compared to the weight loss of 0.8% in their peers who received the placebo.
The sample size of 75 participants was limiting to the study. There was also a gender imbalance between the groups with more women randomized to bimagrumab and more men to placebo. The partial results of this study were presented during a research forum titled “Emerging Drug Therapies Against Obesity” at the ObesityWeek 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Date: January 14th, 2021
Link: https://medicalxpress.com
Reference: Heymsfield SB, Coleman LA, Miller R, et al. Effect of bimagrumab vs placebo on body fat mass among adults with type 2 diabetes and obesity: A phase 2 randomized clinical trial. JAMA Netw Open. 2021 Jan 4;4(1):e2033457.
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