subject: New Weight Loss Breakthrough [print this page] Scientists have announced that they have discovered a new chemical which could help people curb their desire to binge eat and indulge in fatty treats outside of mealtimes, such as while watching a film or after the pub.
The team, from the University of Manchester and the University of Mainz in Germany have been conducting tests on rats to see whether the chemical hemopressin, produced in the rodent's brain and affecting the cannaboid receptor CB1 in the brain, which controls appetite and satiety.
They discovered that hemopressin acts in a similar way to the now-banned slimming drug rimonabant, by making those animals take it less desirous of food.
The team took various groups of rats, some whom were of a normal weight and some who had been genetically engineered to be either obese or lacking in a functioning CB1 receptor. The mice were all housed in similar conditions and were fed the same amount of food at fixed times.
The team discovered that the rats who were given the medication experienced rapid weight loss, which lasted for at least 12 hours after they stopped taking the medication. This was true for both the obese and normal mice, though those with a repressed CB1 receptor did not respond.
In their conclusion, published in the Journal of Neuroscience, team concluded that hemopressin was a naturally occurring appetite suppressant.
Over the past few years appetite suppressants have become the holy grail of weight loss. Many patients have reported finding medications such as Reductil effective aids to weight loss, but the only two appetite suppressants to gain approval from regulators, Reductil and Acomplia, were eventually banned.
Dieters often identify food cravings and the inability to stop binging as the key to their failure to follow a weight loss program strictly, making the suppression of appetite key in the fight to tackle obesity.
While medication is unlikely to lead to rapid weight loss, health care professionals do agree that when used as a part of a weight loss plan, it could have the potential to significantly increase the number of pounds a dieter loses.
This means that any new studies into weight loss is always greeted with interest and a fair amount of hope, but the truth is that the journey from trials on animals to approval for use by humans is a long and very uncertain one.
While this new study may or may not end up with the development of a new slimming pill as the result, it is certainly true that as we understand more about the human brain and its relationship to food, appetite and obesity, we will stand a far better chance of beating the obesity epidemic.
New Weight Loss Breakthrough
By: Andres Hudson
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