this post was submitted on 04 Sep 2023
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Science

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Brain's Weight Switch Found: May Let Us Eat What We Want, Finally (neurosciencenews.com)
submitted 1 year ago by will_a113@lemmy.ml to c/science@beehaw.org
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A new discovery reveals that astrocytes, star-shaped cells in the brain, play a key role in regulating fat metabolism and obesity. These cells act on a cluster of neurons, known as the GABRA5 cluster, effectively acting as a “switch” for weight regulation.

The MAO-B enzyme in these astrocytes was identified as a target for obesity treatment, influencing GABA secretion and thus weight regulation.

KDS2010, a selective and reversible MAO-B inhibitor, successfully led to weight loss in obese mice without impacting their food intake, even while consuming a high-fat diet, and is now in Phase 1 clinical trials.

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[–] Natanael@slrpnk.net 3 points 1 year ago

Look up nutrient bioavailability, which can vary between individuals.

The body can choose to absorb more or less (and the brain have no conscious control) by regulating absorption differently. This regulation is typically used to keep your levels of nutrients steady (some stuff we eat would be deadly in the doses we eat them if it weren't for the fact that the body can simply dump most of the particular substance until we're running low)