Weight loss through diabetes medications?
It depends on the effect in the brain
It was previously unclear why taking certain diabetes medications in some patients leads to reduced appetite and weight loss, but in others not. A date in the journal "Diabetes Care" published Leipzig study showed that the weight-reducing effect of the so-called GLP-1 analogues occurs when a certain region of the brain called the hypothalamus, particularly strongly interacts with other brain regions.
GLP-1 analogues mimic the action of the GLP-1 hormone found in the human gut, which increases insulin secretion, thereby improving sugar metabolism. Scientists from the Integrated Research and Treatment Center (IFB) AdiposityDiseases, the University Medical Center Leipzig and the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig tested the effects of a GLP-1 analogue (Exenatide) on brain activity and on the perception of hunger. For the scientific investigation, the study participants received an exenatide infusion.
In the course of the subsequent functional magnetic resonance imaging, the subjects were shown images of food and their brain activity was measured. A buffet followed, where the study participants could eat until they felt full. The calorie intake of each participant was precisely noted. On the day of the experiment, they also repeatedly assessed how hungry they felt using a standardized scale.
Half of the subjects experienced a reduced feeling of hunger as a result of the medication; as a result, they consumed around 24 percent fewer calories at the buffet than study participants who received a placebo. In the other half of the participants, exenatide did not reduce calorie intake compared to placebo. The test subjects with reduced calorie intake after exenatide showed an increased interaction of the hypothalamus with other brain areas, i.e. greater networking (connectivity).
This may be the cause of the reduced hunger pangs and eventual weight loss seen in diabetic patients taking GLP-1 analogues. The factors why exenatide affects brain activity in some people and not in others are yet to be elucidated in follow-up studies.
Prof. Dr. Michael Stumvoll, Scientific Director of the IFB Obesity Diseases emphasizes: "Studies of this type help to understand the multifactorial causes of morbid obesity and thus the response of individual subgroups to a specific therapy. Because if obesity patients belong to the group with the described If these effects are included, GLP-1 analogs could be indicated in weight loss and targeted in these patients, thereby avoiding costs and side effects in patients who do not respond to these drugs with weight loss."
Randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled clinical study:
Schlögl H, Kabisch S, Horstmann A, Lohmann G, Müller K, Lepsien J, Busse-Voigt F, Kratzsch J, Pleger B, Villringer A, Stumvoll M.: Exenatide-induced reduction in energy intake is associated with increase in hypothalamic connectivity . Diabetes Care, 2013 March 5. [Epub ahead of print]
http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/early/2013/02/27/dc12-1925.abstract
Source: Leipzig [ University ]
