At the Salk Institute, Dr. Ronald Evans has engineered a drug for mice that chemically stimulates a key receptor known as peroxisome profliferators-activated receptor that controls the ability of cells to burn fat. The PPARd activates a set of genes that coordinates fatty acid oxidation and energy uncoupling which are the same cellular processes that occur from exercise.



Dr. Evans and his team examined mice that were engineered to have the PPARd gene activated from birth. They found that the enhanced mice weighed 20 percent less than normal mice fed the same diet at the same rate. As the mice aged, the PPARd activated group did not exhibit significant weight gain while the normal mice became obese. Researchers also tested a molecule that activated the PPARd in obese mice which caused a significant decline of fat in their tissues.

Dr. Evans' goal is to create a drug that has the potential to prevent human metabolic syndrome. Also known as syndrome X, this set of medical disorders dramatically increases risk for cardiovascular disease and diabetes. In today's society, too few people find time to get adequate exercise due to reliance on automobiles, unhealthy work schedules and/or medical conditions. In the absence of healthy lifestyles, a pill that could help reduce excess body fat might provide a substitute that would positively impact the health of Americans.