Dr. Stephen Bloom, an obesity researcher at Hammersmith Hospital in London, said the study needed to be repeated under more rigorous conditions, but added, "It is showing something I believe in deeply — it is very hard to lose weight".
Ramachandran said that the experiment needed to be repeated by other researchers, but, he added, "This takes a spooky psychological phenomenon and, as Shakespeare said, gives it a 'habitation and a name.' " Furthermore, the findings suggested to Ramachandran a possible method for alleviating the oppressive sensations in the unwanted limb.
All aspects of the project needed to be repeated, such as the API manufacturing process development, formulation development, stability studies, analytical methods, and human bioequivalence testing.
Both cautioned that the findings needed to be repeated in more patients, and even then, that this new virus may not be the culprit.
He said there were differences between the bacteria growing in the guts of mice and people, so the same experiments now needed to be repeated to find an equivalent cocktail for people.
The above study needed to be repeated in Europe because the situation there is so dramatically different.
