Adding to a lot of previous research, Matthias Tschup from the University of Cincinnati led a team that concluded that the brain contains an area that regulated appetite, satiety, and fat store and metabolism. The melanocortin system is located in the a central nervous system (CNS) is known as a control loop that receives hormones from the stomach like leptin.
The research group were able to alter the signaling pathway so that calories were burned, not stored in fat cells, regardless of the amount of food intake. “We were able, in essence, to change traffic signals in so-called nutrient highways in the body so that calories were metabolized, and not dumped into fat cells,” says Tschцp. “And we did this without changing the rate of food intake. “These findings are relevant for human obesity, since mutations in the system we studied here are the most common known reason for genetically caused obesity in humans,” Tschцp added.
They anticipate that the rodent studies can be replicated in humans. The obesity epidemic in industrialized countries is a serious health risk. Individuals would benefit enormously if a safe and effective treatment allows the average person to maintain a lean body despite a high calorie diet. There currently is no safe cure for obesity, yet a huge industry of fat buster pills exists without government oversight and with potential negative side-effects. The efficacy of these pills are in question.
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