Is the craving for alcohol and sugar controlled by a liver hormone?

According to a recent research, a special hormone has an important influence on the individual preference for sweets and alcohol. The research team around Dr. Steven Kliewer, Professor of Molecular Biology and Pharmacology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, found that the FGF21 (fibroblast growth factor 21) hormone, which is produced in the liver, influences mammalian preference for alcohol and sugar. The scientists published their results in the journal "Cell Metabolism".
The liver hormone works through the reward system in the brain and can significantly reduce the craving for sweets and alcohol in mammals, according to the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. The researchers hope that their results will contribute to the development of drugs against alcohol addiction and obesity. Because of the unique effects of FGF21, forms of the protein are being evaluated as potential drugs for the treatment of obesity and type 2 diabetes, Kliewer and colleagues report. Current evidence indicates that the potential applications of liver hormone based drugs may be much broader than previously thought.

Liver hormone is responsible for cravings for alcohol and sweetener. Image: sector_2010 - fotolia

Passion for alcohol and sugar dwindles
In their research, the researchers used mice and primates to examine the effect of elevated levels of FGF21 on the preference for sugar and alcohol. She also evaluated the dopamine release in the brain of the animals. Dopamine plays a central role in the reward system as a neurotransmitter. "We found that increased release of FGF21 significantly reduces the predilection for sweet and alcohol in mice and reduces the preference for sweets in primates," says co-author Dr. David Mangelsdorf. To make sure that FGF21 works through the reward system in the brain, the scientists tested what happens when the co-receptor β-klotho in the central nervous system of mice was turned off. If this co-receptor is not present, FGF21 can not work. A lack of the central nervous system co-receptor resulted in no change in taste preference.

Effect on the reward system in the brain
An elevated level of the liver hormone, according to the researchers to a reduction in dopamine concentration in the brain region of the nucleus accumbens, whereby the reward system is less stimulated and the preference for sugar and alcohol dwindle. "Our results show that FGF21 affects nutritional preferences and other reward-related behaviors in humans, and that the hormone could potentially be used to treat alcoholism," Prof. Dr. Kliewer. However, further studies are needed to assess the impact of FGF21 on the predilection for sweet and alcohol and other reward behavior in humans. (Fp)