TIL: Orlistat, an over the counter weight loss drug, has nasty side effects. The drug works by blocking an enzyme, pancreatic lipase, that normally breaks down triglycerides (which can't be absorbed by the gut) to individual fatty acids (which can). The problems with this are twofold: lipid soluble vitamins can't be absorbed, leading to deficiencies, and the unabsorbed lipids leave the body as fatty stool. Mmmm fatty stool! Diet and exercise are starting to sound more... palatable.
Though the drug acts through a different mechanism, it actually causes some of the same symptoms as cystic fibrosis. CF is caused by a defective cellular chloride transporter resulting in unusually thick bodily secretions. This seemingly small change leads to a number of problems, one of which being decreased or blocked pancreatic secretions, which include pancreatic lipase (the enzyme targeted by Orlistat).
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