Fresh hope in weight control battle
Updated on 05 June 2007
Scientists held out the hope of developing new weight-loss drugs after discovering a molecule linked to obesity.
Researchers found the molecule, called Bsx, was connected to both food intake and spontaneous physical activity such as fidgeting.
In tests, mice lacking Bsx in their brains were found to be much lazier than normal mice and less likely to go looking for food.
The research, reported in the journal Cell Metabolism, suggests that the molecule could be a promising target for drugs designed to control diet-related obesity in humans.
Maria Sakkou, who carried out the study at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg, Germany, said: "Bsx is conserved across species and very likely plays a similar role in controlling body weight in humans.
"Differences in Bsx activity between individuals could help explain why some people are intrinsically more active than others and less susceptible to diet-induced obesity.
"Bsx might be the key to why the same diet makes one person fat, while leaving another unaffected."
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