Scientists are discovering special switches in the brain that can regulate appetite

New study results could help people lose weight more easily
Many people try to lose weight, either through dieting or exercise. It is difficult for many affected people to curb their appetite. Scientists now found a kind of "switch" in the human brain that could help regulate our appetite. With its help, we could maybe lose a few pounds more easily in the future.

Anyone who has ever dieted knows how difficult it is to control the hunger that occurs. Researchers from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have now discovered in an investigation that there is a kind of "switch" in our brain that affects our appetite. The physicians published the results of their study in the journal "Science".

Scientists have discovered a kind of switch that regulates appetite. Thus, it might be easier in future to lose a few pounds. (Image: BillionPhotos.com/fotolia.com)

Defective "switch" leads to overweight and obesity
Would not it be wonderful if we could regulate our hunger by switching a switch? Then it would be easy to eat less at meals and we could lose a few pounds without much effort. The physicians at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine believe that blood sugar levels are involved in switching the "switch" at our meals. This then causes us to experience a feeling of satiation. If the "switch" does not work, we eat too much and are more likely to develop obesity, explain the doctors.

Paraventricular nucleus sends signals that affect our eating behavior
As the researchers studied the nerve cells in the brain of laboratory mice, they discovered the "switch" that controlled our appetite. The cells belong to a small brain region called the paraventricular nucleus (a nucleus of the hypothalamus whose neurons produce various hormones), say the experts. This core sends and receives signals related to our appetite and food intake. When this type of brain cell sends out signals, the laboratory mice stopped eating a short time later, explains Dr. Keith. Richard Huganir of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. The signals apparently determine when the mice are full.

Enzyme OGT plays a key role in the regulation of appetite
A specific enzyme, called OGT, stimulates synaptic connections between cells and appears to play a key role in the regulation of our appetite. When the gene was neutralized for OGT, the mice ate too much, explain the scientists. Although the test animals consumed the same number of meals as normal mice, they nevertheless ate larger portions. Measurements of neuronal electrical activity showed that without OGT the cells lacked synaptic input, the researchers say. The result suggests that OGT helps these cells maintain our synapses, Dr. Huganir. The number of synapses in these cells was so low that they probably could not receive and send enough signals. These cells seem to be responsible for sending the message, which causes us to stop eating, adds the physician.

Results could help to find appetite control drugs
We still know too little about this system, but we suspect that glucose interacts with OGT in the cells to regulate the serving size of the meals in the mice, explains co-author Olof Lagerlöf. We believe we have found a new recipient of information that directly affects brain activity and feeding behavior. If the results of the study are effective on other animals and humans as well, they could help to find medicines or other remedies that would help us to control our appetite, say the experts. (As)