Axokine Side Effects

Axokine is a brand new drug with hopes of being a totally different kind of weight-loss drug. It's a man-made chemical that mimics a chemical the brain makes to protect itself from injury. It was designed as a possible treatment for Lou Gehrig's disease. But when researchers gave the experimental drug to patients, they lost weight.

The drug affects a powerful brain system called the leptin pathway. Leptin is a chemical messenger that tells you when you've had enough to eat. Obese people have leptin resistance; they lose the ability to know when they're full. Axokine apparently bypasses this resistance and flips the fullness switch.

Perhaps the best news came in the yearlong period after treatment. There was no immediate weight gain when drug treatment stopped. After about a year, patients treated with Axokine started to gain some weight.

There was a high rate of side effects reported for both the weight-loss drug Axokine and placebo. Side effects that appeared linked to Axokine treatment included skin reactions at the site of injection, nausea, and increased cough. These last two side effects weren't as much a problem in those who got the best dose of Axokine.