American researchers have discovered an appetite-suppressing hormone in laboratory mice. These mice experienced a 20% weight loss within a week. However, researchers are still unable to determine whether this hormone has a similar effect in humans.
Obestatin has been added to a group of three hormones that affect appetite, including leptin. However, to date, no hormone has been found that can be formulated into an effective drug against obesity, a condition that affects 65% of Americans.
Medical researchers at Harvard University have also found that obestatin is derived from the same gene as ghrelin, a hormone that stimulates appetite.
According to Greg Barsh, one of the authors of the study published in the journal Science, the close genetic relationship between these two hormones, which have opposite effects, may allow for a better understanding of the complex mechanisms regulating appetite.
Researchers have also noted that animals that are neither obese nor overweight and were injected with synthetic obestatin experienced reduced appetite and weight loss similar to that observed in mice. The next step is to investigate whether this hormone has a similar effect in obese animals.
However, they are hopeful that this hormone will help in finding an effective weight loss therapy. Obestatin could potentially be developed into a drug that reduces appetite in either injectable or oral form.
