New York – A new study reveals why some people fail to respond to leptin, a hormone produced by fat that tells the brain to stop eating. Now with the help of two FDA-approved drugs, people with leptin sensitivity may finally get some help.
Scientists have been studying the hormone leptin since the mid 90’s. Scientists hoped that high doeses of leptin would trigger the brain to stop eating.
“Leptin comes to the brain and knocks on the door, but the brain doesn’t hear it,” he said.
For the study, Ozcan and his colleagues found that two existing, FDA-approved drugs could serve as “chemical chaperones” and help leptin gain entry into the brains of mice. The drugs are 4-phenyl butyric acid (PBA), which treats cystic fibrosis, and tauroursodeoxycholic acid (TUDCA), which treats a liver disease.
“They’re very safe drugs in humans and used safely for other indications,” Ozcan said.
“A leptin-sensitizing agent has not been previously described despite the long-standing efforts in both academia and industry,” he wrote. “The results presented in this study provide evidence that chemical chaperones, particularly the PBA and TUDCA, can be used as leptin-sensitizing agents. When the high safety profiles of PBA, TUDCA, and leptin are taken into consideration, our results may define a novel treatment option for obesity.”
“Most importantly, our study is the first success in sensitizing obese mice on a high-fat diet to leptin,” said Umut Ozcan of Harvard Medical School. “If it works in humans, it could treat obesity.”
Findings were published January 7 by the journal Cell Metabolism.