Weight Loss Pills News: Clinical Trial Testing Human Feces for Possible Treatment of Obesity
Shocking as it may sound at first, researchers are now working on a trial that will possibly create a link between human poo and the treatment of obesity.
For many years, scientists have been working on various studies that will help people trying to lose weight to undergo processes that will prove to be safe and will have the lowest possible risks. The new trial that researchers at the Massachusetts General Hospital will look into later this year will look at how bacteria affects weight loss and if there is a possibility that the bacteria in human poo can help treat obesity.
According to ABC News, the trial will assess 20 obese patients. The respondents will be given capsules with freeze-dried feces in a span of six weeks. Aside from the feces from lean and healthy donors, the patients will also undergo exercises and will have to eat healthy food.
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Dr. Elaine Yu, who heads the trial, told the New York Daily News that the patients won't even be bothered about the "poo pills" since the pills will be carefully crafted, in such a way that no one will even recognize the feces.
"The pills are odorless, tasteless and double-encapsulated to ensure they will not release until they reach the right location in the large intestine," Yu explained.
While Yu and the team are aware that nothing can be proven yet until the respondents come out clean after the trial, it is believed that gut microbes are playing a very important role in maintaining the regular activities of human metabolism.
In 2013, the same process was tested in groups of mice. The mice were given poo from lean and obese humans. Surprisingly, the mice that received lean human poo remained slim, meaning gut microbes from healthy humans helped regulate metabolism in the mice.
The hopes are high, especially for the respondents and other people who have heard about the trial. However, Yu warned against trying the process at home, especially since the team has yet to reveal results after the trial.
