this post was submitted on 04 Sep 2023
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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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[–] tiny_electron@beehaw.org 13 points 1 year ago (19 children)

But where does all the excess energy go? You can't cheat basic physics

[–] TheChurn@kbin.social 35 points 1 year ago (5 children)

Believe it or not, what you swallow has almost nothing to do with your weight. The only place the body absorbs energy from food is in the intestines, and the brain controls that process.

The digestive tract is a tube, open at both ends, through which food passes. The process of extracting energy from that food is complex and highly tunable: the brain controls the production and secretion of hundreds of enzymes and other chemicals, as well as the physical action of the muscles lining the tube.

The 'basic physics' here begins at the intestinal wall, not the mouth.

[–] Hardeehar@lemm.ee 4 points 1 year ago (3 children)

I mean technically, if it's a tube, the mouth is part of the basic physics brain process. As in, if you don't eat it, it won't be added to the calories. The decision to eat is a brain process, too.

We've got drugs that play with that decision.

[–] jhulten@infosec.pub 17 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It's also easy easier to discriminate against far people if you can define it as a moral failure of just not putting food in your gob.

[–] Scribbd@feddit.nl 3 points 1 year ago

Unlike close people. Those are always bastards invading personal spaces.

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