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Obesity is often a chronic condition and results in an increased incidence of diseases such as coronary heart disease, hypertension, stroke, diabetes, colonic cancer and arthritis. A Public Accounts Committee report showed that obesity is linked to 30,000 deaths annually in the UK, shortening life by an average of nine years. The NHS costs associated with obesity are calculated to be about half a billion pounds per annum.
PharmaLinks, the collaborative initiative between the Universities of Glasgow and Strathclyde, has won a £1m research contract from Hyundai Pharmaceutical (Korea) to develop an anti-obesity drug discovered at Strathclydes Institute for Drug Research. Researchers have found that a component from an extract of a traditionally used medicinal plant may cause sustained weight loss, without reduction in food intake and without toxic side effects. If successful, the project could lead to new medicines for the treatment of obesity. PharmaLinks researchers in both universities will also work closely with clinical groups in the West of Scotland studying the genetic basis of obesity.'
The Hannah Research Institute has a large research programme in altered metabolic interactions as mediators of lifestyle related disease such as obesity and diabetes.
PharmaLinks
The Hannah Research Institute
Section Of General Practice & Primary Care, Medical Faculty, University Of Glasgow (Division Of Community Based Sciences)
Department of Human Nutrition, University of Glasgow
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