A group of researchers has discovered a brain cell type that generates appetite when there is a excess energy in the body, as it happens to obese people.
The finding, published this Wednesday in the specialized magazine ‘Cell Metabolism’, identifies that these cells not only produce a molecule that stimulates hunger, rather, they make the brain more sensitive to these stimuli.
Thus, a person with excess fat will feel a greater appetite than a thinner one.
The researchers hope this discovery will help develop medicines specifically targeted at block these receptors in the brain, which would make weight loss treatments more effective.
According to the main author of the study, Herbert Herzog, it’s a statement, the brain is “programmed to resist (…) weight loss, that it considers a threat to our survival.
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Herzog describes the discovered mechanism as “vicious circle”, since it prevents the body from balancing its energy consumption and its accumulation.
The team of researchers is part of the Garvan Institute for Medical Research, located in the Australian town of Darlinghurst, a suburb of Sydney.
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