Patent Abstract:
administration of a therapeutically effective amount of 3 , 5 - diiodothyropropionic acid stimulates weight loss in patients , lowers triglyceride levels and reduces risk of death or progression of coronary heart disease in patients with metabolic syndrome .

Detailed Description:
ditpa was synthesized following good manufacturing procedures by coupling dianisoleiodium trifluoroacetate with ethyl - 3 -( 3 , 5 - diiodo - 4 - hydroxyphenyl )- propionate followed by removal of the methyl and ethyl protective groups as described in my aforesaid u . s . pat . no . 6 , 534 , 676 . the effects of administering ditpa were studied in 7 volunteers all but one of whom had normal weight . study participants were men between the ages of 27 and 52 years . of note , there was an average weight loss of only 0 . 6 kg for the group , or 0 . 7 % of their initial weight , which did not attain statistical significant ( p = 0 . 13 ). body mass index ( bmi ) was calculated as a meaning of judging obesity . bmi is a measure of body fat based on height and weight that applies to both men and women . excluding the one overweight individual bmi ranged from 21 . 0 to 26 . 7 ( average 25 . 0 ). ( the range of normal weight for men is 20 . 7 to 26 . 4 , marginally over weight 26 . 4 to 27 . 8 , overweight 27 . 8 to 31 . 1 , and very obese is greater than 31 . 1 ). bmi was calculated using the bmi calculator at the national heart , lung , and blood institute web site ( nhlbisupport / com / bmi /). bmi and lipid data for the six volunteers of normal body weight are summarized in table i a & amp ; b : cholesterol levels ranged from 133 mg / dl to 320 mg / dl ( average 202 . 2 ± 25 . 4 mg / dl ), ldl - cholesterol 121 . 6 ± 14 . 2 , hdl - cholesterol 33 . 7 ± 7 . 5 . triglycerides levels ranged from 83 mg / dl to 538 mg / dl ( average 189 . 8 ± 71 . 1 mg / dl ) before treatment . on day 1 , these normal volunteers were started on 1 . 875 mg / kg ditpa in two divided doses per day . this treatment regimen was continued for two weeks . at the end of the second week , the dose was doubled to 3 . 75 mg / kg and the volunteers were treated for two additional weeks . after two weeks of treatment with ditpa cholesterol levels were decreased to an average of 172 . 8 ± 28 . 2 mg / dl , ldl - cholesterol to 98 . 3 ± 13 . 3 mg / dl . hdl - cholesterol and triglycerides were unchanged at 35 . 5 ± 3 . 3 mg / dl and 195 . 2 ± 81 . 2 mg / dl , respectively . after four weeks of treatment cholesterol , ldl - cholesterol , hdl - cholesterol and triglyceride levels were essentially unchanged from values after 2 weeks of treatment . note that triglyceride levels in the one individual ( k . l .) with very high triglyceride levels , was unaffected by treatment . thus treatment with ditpa in individuals of normal body weight lowered cholesterol and ldl - cholesterol but did not cause weight loss or a decrease in triglycerides . treatment was repeated with a second group of 8 patients with heart failure . ( one patient with heart failure treated with ditpa reported in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 716 , 877 was excluded because no lipid data were available at baseline .) those in the second group had body mass indices ranging from 21 . 0 to 30 . 3 ( average 32 . 2 , which was in the obese range ). the patients in this group received an initial dose of 1 . 875 mg / kg for two weeks , which was doubled to 3 . 75 mg / kg for two additional weeks . as reported earlier , heart failure patients receiving ditpa experienced an average weight loss of 4 kg or 4 . 0 % of their initial body weight ( p = 0 . 059 ). at baseline average cholesterol values were 185 . 8 ± 16 . 6 mg / dl , ldl - cholesterol 107 . 1 ± 15 . 1 mg / dl , hdl - cholesterol 32 . 8 ± 2 . 8 mg / dl and triglycerides 228 . 6 ± 39 . 8 mg / dl . after two weeks of treatment with ditpa cholesterol decreased to 166 . 5 ± 14 . 8 mg / dl , ldl - cholesterol to 93 . 1 ± 13 . 9 mg / dl and triglycerides to 216 . 9 ± 30 . 6 mg / dl . after four weeks of treatment cholesterol decreased to 145 . 1 ± 17 . 7 , ldl - cholesterol to 84 . 3 ± 14 . 9 and triglycerides to 148 . 4 ± 23 . 3 . the decrease in triglycerides of 35 % is comparable to that reported by goglia and lanni in normal volunteers treated with 3 , 5 - t 2 . of particular interest , the two patients ( j . g . and j . d . ), with triglycerides of greater than 300 , had decreases in triglycerides of 60 % and 36 %, respectively . it is thus seen that administration of ditpa caused a greater decrease in weight of overweight individuals than those of normal body weight . triglycerides also were decreased to a greater extent in overweight individuals . in these individuals , the triglycerides were decreased both in those with normal and elevated triglycerides levels . as used herein , the terms “ overweight individuals ” and “ overweight patients ” are those individuals or patients having a body mass index of 30 or more . as used herein , “ therapeutically effective amounts ” or “ effective dose levels ” for achieving weight loss and lowering of triglyceride levels of overweight individuals were 0 . 1 to 10 . 0 mg / kg daily , preferably 1 . 875 to 3 . 75 mg / kg daily . preferably , the daily doses were divided in half and administered twice daily . while the invention has been described in detail in treating humans in accordance with certain preferred embodiments the invention also advantageously may be used for treating overweight animals such as dogs and cats , and other domesticated animals . also , while administration of ditpa appears to reduce triglycerides , particularly in overweight individuals , individuals of normal weight also may benefit by a reduction of triglycerides from administration of ditpa in accordance with the present invention . moreover , ditpa advantageously may be combined with one of the conventional lipid / triglyceride lowering therapeutic agents such as hmg coa reductase inhibitors commonly referred to as ‘ statins ’, e . g ., atorvastatin ( lipitor ), simvastatin ( zocor ), fluvastatin ( lescol ), lovastatin ( mevacor ), rosuvastatin ( crestor ), and pravastatin ( pravachol ) or the like . niacin and inhibitors of cholesterol absorption such as ezetimibe ( zetia ) also may be combined with ditpa . for treatment of hypertriglyceridemia fibric acid derivative such as gemfibrozil ( lopid ), fenofibrate ( tricor ), etc . may be combined with ditpa . still other modifications and changes therein may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . 1 . ford e s , giles w h , dietz w h : prevalence of the metabolic syndrome among us adults . findings from the third national health and nutrition examination survey . jama 287 : 356 - 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