SOMERSET, N.J., Nov. 5, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Juvent Medical, Inc., an expansion stage medical device innovator with a patented Dynamic Motion Therapy(r) ("DMT") technology for the prevention and treatment of bone loss associated with osteoporosis, the maintenance of postural stability and the enhancement of the circulatory system, announced today that the results of a recent study using mice indicate that the Company's DMT technology may also have future applications in helping to control obesity and diabetes. The study results have received extensive national press and media coverage.
According to lead researcher Clinton Rubin, Ph.D., SUNY Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Stony Brook University, the results of the study, which were published online the week of October 22, 2007 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) in a paper titled "Adipogenesis is Inhibited by Brief, Daily Exposure to High-Frequency, Extremely Low-Magnitude Mechanical Signals," are striking and the method used may someday lead to a non-strenuous, drug-free method for control of obesity. Dr. Rubin is one of the co-developers of Juvent Medical's DMT technology.
In the study, mice were subjected to virtually imperceptible vibrations for 15 minutes a day for 15 weeks. The study results showed that after the vibration regimen, the vibrated mice had 28 percent less fat in their torsos than a control group of the same kind of mice who ate the same amount of food, and had the same amount of exercise. In addition, key risk factors in the onset of type 2 diabetes, such as triglycerides and free fatty acids, were reduced by 43 percent and 39 percent, respectively, in the livers of the vibrated mice.
Stem cells are special cells the body generates that can then turn into other cells as the body needs them. Bone cells, fat cells, and muscle cells all come from the same type of precursor stem cells. "These low-magnitude mechanical signals appear to do something remarkable, and that is, inhibit the differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells into fat cells," says Dr. Rubin. "Theoretically, a mechanical signal that controls the differentiation of stem cells could prevent obesity and perhaps osteoporosis by inducing the cells to develop into bone or muscle cells rather than fat cells."
Dr. Rubin emphasizes that many steps are ahead of the research team before they can demonstrate that low-magnitude vibrations may reduce the production of fat in humans, let alone develop a targeted therapy. The results, however, bring a new view on the etiology of obesity, from both a developmental and metabolic perspective.
The study and continued research is funded through grants from the National Institutes of Health, NASA and with a W.H. Coulter Translational Research Award.
Several randomized control human clinical trials are currently underway in North America to confirm the beneficial effects of DMT on osteoporosis patients of various age groups. Juvent DMT devices are used exclusively in these studies. In the elderly, bone mineral density is being measured in a two-year study at Hebrew Senior Life, Institute for Aging Research, in Boston. A one-year study of postmenopausal osteopenia prevention is taking place within the University Health Network, Toronto ("UHN"). Thirdly, a one-year study of children with bone loss due to Crohn's Disease is in progress at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. These studies are funded by the National Institute on Aging, UHN and the National Institutes of Health, respectively.