Could sleeping in oxygen tent help you slim?

Study set to test effects on diabetics

LOSING weight in your sleep, without any extra exercise, is the dream for most people trying to shed a few pounds.

and it may be possible, according to experts who are asking people to doze off in a low-oxygen tent.

The tent, which costs around £2,000, reduces the amount of oxygen people inhale from the usual 21 per cent to 15 per cent.

Previous studies in healthy people suggest it may be possible to lose almost two pounds after ten days of using it.

now researchers led by the University of Portsmouth are set to trial the tent on 15 people with type 2 diabetes. Weight loss can help the insulin people with type 2 diabetes produce and help the insulin they inject to work properly.

They say cutting oxygen intake, to about the level people get on an aeroplane or at high altitude, forces the body to work harder to breathe, which burns more calories.

But the trial results and further evidence is needed on how the tent works. It is not suitable for people with breathing problems or sleep apnoea. Dr ant Shepherd, senior lecturer at the University of Portsmouth who is seeking volunteers for the study, said: ‘Of course many people wish they could just lose weight as they sleep, and that may sound strange, but the evidence suggests it is possible.’

Participants will also undergo blood tests to look at hormones like leptin – the ‘fullness hormone’ which appears to go up when people breathe less oxygen at altitude, so that they feel less hungry and eat less.

Researchers will also take stool samples in order to look at gut bacteria, including one type which thrives in low- oxygen conditions and produces a fatty acid that is believed to reduce weight gain.

People in the trial will be asked to wear fitness trackers and keep a food diary.

They will sleep in the tent, which fits around a pillow and is weighted at the bottom, for two ten-day periods at home. During one of these periods the tent’s machinery will reduce their oxygen intake to 15 per cent, while the oxygen level will be normal for the other ten.

There is already evidence that breathing less oxygen – called ‘hypoxia’ - can reduce the blood sugar of people with diabetes.

Janet Rennell- Smyth, from Portsmouth, who is taking part in the trial, said: ‘It doesn’t feel claustrophobic and, when you get used to the noise of the machine, it feels no different.

‘I had no trouble going to sleep in it.’ Initial findings from the trial are expected to be announced early next year.

Dr Faye Riley of Diabetes Uk, said: ‘We look forward to following the progress of this trial, as it sets out to answer questions about the safety and potential benefits of hypoxia for people with type 2 diabetes.

‘By taking part in research, you can play a crucial role in improving diabetes care, but it’s important to always consult your healthcare team and speak to the healthcare professionals involved in the study. always get their expert advice before trying something different.’

‘Forced to work harder to breathe’

ANew type of drug that triggers the body’s muscles to soak up excess blood sugar could revolutionise the treatment of type 2 diabetes. The experimental drug, code-named ATR258, is the first medication to work by directly moving sugar from the blood and into the muscles. Developed in Sweden, it’s been successful in animal studies and is now being trialled in patients.

There are around four million people in the UK diagnosed with diabetes — the majority have type 2. This occurs either because the body doesn’t produce enough of the hormone insulin (which helps muscles to mop up excess sugar from the blood) or because muscle cells don’t respond to insulin very well.

As a result, sugar (glucose) builds up in the blood — this can eventually damage cells and nerves, potentially leading to eye problems, heart disease and stroke.

In type 1 diabetes, usually diagnosed in childhood, the body does not make any insulin because the immune system attacks and destroys pancreas cells that produce it. People with type 1 diabetes need to take insulin daily. Nine out of ten people with diabetes have type 2, however, usually diagnosed later in life.

Risk factors include being overweight, lack of physical activity, family history and high blood pressure. with type 2, the body doesn’t make enough insulin or doesn’t use insulin well — treatments range from lifestyle changes to drugs that help the body deal with the higher blood sugar levels. Most drugs work on boosting the insulin system.

But ATR-258, developed by Atrogi, a company founded by Tore Bengtsson, a physiology professor at Stockholm University, is a new class of medication that bypasses the insulin system. It acts on muscle receptors, stimulating the muscles to take glucose out of the blood — to use for energy — and further lowering blood sugar levels independent of the pancreas and insulin.

Studies in rats showed ATR-258 lowers blood glucose to healthy levels and boosts insulin sensitivity — reducing the amount required.

Nearly 80 people are taking part in the trial at CRS Clinical Research Services, Mannheim, Germany.

‘Current treatments for type 2 diabetes aim to over-stimulate the already dysfunctional insulin system, and seldom work well,’ says Professor Bengtsson. ‘Over time, this means poor effectiveness and a risk of serious illness. Our treatment means that these problems can be avoided.’

Commenting on the research, Dr Ali Aldibbiat, a consultant in diabetes and endocrinology in Kuwait and a researcher at Newcastle University, said: ‘It is exciting to see drugs that are independent of insulin.

‘This ensures patients with type 2 diabetes can be treated for longer as internal insulin production tends to decline over time, which renders other treatments less effective.

‘The genius of ATR-258 is it hacks the very mechanism that allows sugar to enter the cells for use as an energy source, a process otherwise dependent fully on insulin.’