With more than 1.8 billion people worldwide estimated to be overweight or obese, researchers are hard at work to discover ways to reduce the number of individuals who suffer from these disorders.
And it may come as no surprise that overeating can have a substantial effect on your health packing on the pounds lead to diabetes-related diseases and put added pressure on your heart. Whats more, new research finds that overeating can also cause a communication meltdown in your brain!
A study team lead by Dongsheng Cai, M.D., at the University of Wisconsin-Madison found that when mice were fed a high-fat diet, their hypothalamus gland at the base of their brain became extremely active. Once this activity occurred, the brain ignored the release of the substance leptinwhich tells the brain youre full.
The researchers also noticed during the heightened activity, high levels of a compound know as IKKbeta/NK-kappaB were also secreted from the hypothalamus. The more of this compound that was released, the more the mice ate. If the researchers reduced the amount of the compound, then the mice ate less.
In a press release, Cai and his team concluded that the compound is essentially the master switch that causes overeating. If this compound could be eliminated, then your brain might not ignore the signs to help regulate your appetite.
Genetic engineering can solve the problem in the mice, but not in humans. Cai and his colleagues are working on possible treatment options, with a focus on gene therapy.
The results of the study were published in the journal Cell.