Researchers at the Aberdeen Rowett Institute in the United Kingdom have identified a specific group of brain cells that control body weight and can be harnessed to reduce food intake. This group of discovered cells produces a chemical called GABA, which primarily functions to inhibit signals in the brain. Dr. Pablo Blanco Martinez de Morentin, who led the study while at the Rowett Institute, stated, "We found a new relationship between a subgroup of understudied neurons in the brainstem that sense food consumption, which inhibits the activity of primary hunger neurons in another part of the brain. This connection uses the chemical GABA. This discovery opens the possibility of activating new strategies for weight regulation."
The research team utilized a range of advanced techniques, including recording single-cell activity and measuring changes in daily food intake and body weight in mice, to achieve this discovery. Professor Laura Hessler from the Rowett University Institute mentioned, "We know that the brain controls food intake, but how it does so has not been fully determined. We identified a group of cells within the brain that can be harnessed to reduce food intake and body weight. One method involves inhibiting the activity of cells that control hunger."
She added, "One interesting feature of GABA found in the brainstem is that the widely prescribed obesity drug, liraglutide, utilizes it to reduce food intake. We discovered that activating GABA reduces food intake without causing nausea, which is a common undesirable side effect of liraglutide." Researchers assert that "these results may pave the way for the development of more drugs that limit food intake and body weight by addressing hunger without causing nausea."
