I’m a Scientist is like school science lessons meet the X Factor! School students choose which scientist gets a prize of $1000 to communicate their work.
Scientists and students talk on this website. They both break down barriers, have fun and learn. But only the students get to vote.
This zone is the Disease Zone. It has scientists studying the causes and processes of illness . Who gets the prize? YOU decide!
Excellent question aussiedogs and I know I answered this question during the chat session.
I don’t think people who are already very low on iron or boarderline anemic (= shortage of iron in body) would be allowed to take this drug for weight loss.
The drug is called deferasirox and it is an iron chelator drug. You can get it at the pharmacy, but it is meant for people who have too much iron in their body. If you get blood transfusions, you get extra iron from the donor blood. Your body cannot really get rid of iron and if iron accumulates in cells, it could kill you! So we really need a little iron to function, but too much will kill you!
Funny enough, and what’s nice about our research, is that many studies have already noticed that people who eat a lot of meat (= lots of iron) have more iron in their body and often these people have a tendency to be overweight! Other studies have found that vegetarians or people who regularly donate blood, have lower iron levels in their body and most are NOT overweight or obese.
So we already knew there was a link between too much iron in your body and getting fat! Our pill removes iron from the body and mice stay thin!
But yes, you’re right, anyone who is at risk of getting anemia should not be allowed to take this drug.
0