Originally published November 11 2005
Stanford study finds hormone that reduces hunger urge
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
The Journal Science has published a study from Stanford University that claims the hormone obestatin acts as an appetite suppressant.
Scientists have discovered a biological brake for a hunger hormone: a competing hormone that seems to counter the urge to eat.
The substance, named obestatin, has been tested just in laboratory rats so far.
But if it pans out, the discovery of the dueling hormones could lead not only to a new appetite suppressant, but also help unravel the complex ways that the body regulates weight.
Years of additional research lie ahead to see whether obestatin might work as an appetite suppressor.
Other weight-related hormones announced to great fanfare, such as leptin, have yet to lead to obesity treatments, and scientists now know that dozens of hormones probably are involved in the balancing act of weight gain and loss.
But with one-third of American adults obese and only a few prescription drugs providing modest weight-loss help, every new clue generates intense interest.
Among the crucial questions to be answered is whether obestatin made the rats eat less not because it directly suppressed their appetite but because it made them feel ill.
The theory is that ghrelin helped early humans survive famine by fattening them up during times when food was plentiful, a mechanism that can backfire in today's culture of plenty.
Obestatin is a sister hormone to ghrelin and is produced in the gut, too, Stanford endocrinologist Aaron Hsueh and colleagues discovered.
Hsueh's team was scouring databases of genes from humans and other organisms in a quest to discover types of hormones that could be turned into drugs fairly easily.
The stomach does not work alone, but is part of a complex gut-brain network where hormones and other substances in the stomach and intestines signal the brain about fullness or hunger.
All content posted on this site is commentary or opinion and is protected under Free Speech. Truth Publishing LLC takes sole responsibility for all content. Truth Publishing sells no hard products and earns no money from the recommendation of products. NaturalNews.com is presented for educational and commentary purposes only and should not be construed as professional advice from any licensed practitioner. Truth Publishing assumes no responsibility for the use or misuse of this material. For the full terms of usage of this material, visit www.NaturalNews.com/terms.shtml