England – Researchers at the Aberdeen Rowett Institute, in the United Kingdom, have discovered a specific group of brain cells that control body weight and can be harnessed to reduce food intake.
The discovered group of cells makes a chemical called GABA, whose primary function is to block signals in the brain.
Dr. Pablo Blanco Martinez de Morentin, who led the study while at the Rowett Institute, said: “We found a new connection between a previously unstudied subset of neurons in the brainstem sensing food consumption, which turns off hunger-priming neurons in another part of the brain. This connection uses the chemical GABA. “This discovery opens the possibility of implementing new strategies for weight regulation.”
The research team used a range of advanced techniques, including recording the activity of single cells and measuring changes in daily food intake and body weight in mice, to make this discovery.
Professor Laura Hessler, from the Rowett University Institute, said: “We know that the brain controls food intake, but how it does this has not been fully determined. We have identified a group of cells within the brain that can be harnessed to reduce food intake and body weight. “One way is to inhibit the activity of cells that control hunger.”
She added: “One interesting feature of GABA in the brainstem is that the widely prescribed obesity drug, liraglutide, uses it to reduce food intake. “We discovered that activating GABA reduces food intake without causing nausea, a common unwanted side effect of liraglutide.”
The researchers say these findings may pave the way for the development of more drugs to reduce food intake and body weight by treating hunger, without causing nausea.
The study was published in the journal Current Biology.
Source: Medical Express
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2024-03-28 00:53:59