Binge-eating is a brain disorder which could be targeted with an anti-obesity pill, scientists claim

Home / Pharmaceutical Updates / Binge-eating is a brain disorder which could be targeted with an anti-obesity pill, scientists claim
July 11, 2017July 11, 2017
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  • Immune cells that cause people to gorge on high-fat foods have been identified
  • When mice were given an experimental drug to reduce the cells they ate 15% less
  • Similar drug is in clinical trials that may help stop humans piling on the pounds

Binge-eating is a brain disorder which could be targeted with an anti-obesity pill, scientists claim.

Immune cells that cause people to gorge on high-fat foods have been identified by a team of researchers.

When greedy mice were given an experimental drug to attack the cells, called microglia, they ate 15 per cent less and gained a fifth less weight.

A similar drug is already in clinical trials for other conditions and could help prevent humans piling on the pounds.

When greedy mice were given an experimental drug to attack the cells they ate 15 per cent less and gained a fifth less weight

When greedy mice were given an experimental drug to attack the cells they ate 15 per cent less and gained a fifth less weight

Professor Suneil Koliwad, of the University of California, San Francisco, was behind the latest findings published in Cell Metabolism.

He said: ‘Microglia are not neurons, but they account for 10 to 15 per cent of the cells in the brain.

‘They represent an untapped and completely novel way to target the brain in order to potentially mitigate obesity and its health consequences.’

Neurons in the hypothalamus, which plays a crucial role in eating, have long been a target for the development of drugs to treat obesity.

But the new study suggests microglia could be a better bet.

Professor Koliwad and colleagues put mice on a diet rich in fat for four weeks – which is known to cause the cells to expand in number.

COULD IT WORK IN HUMANS?

It may soon be possible to learn whether eliminating microglia can thwart weight gain in humans as well.

Another drug also made by California-based Plexxikon – called PLX3977 – is currently in clinical trials for hard-to-treat cancers and rare forms of arthritis.

It acts by the same biological mechanism as their PLX522 used to reduce microglia in the mice.

So it could be possible to see whether the cancer patients in the PLX3977 trials experience beneficial effects on body weight, said Professor Koliwad.

It also triggers inflammation in the MBH (mediobasal hypothalamus), which contains neurons that regulate food intake and energy expenditure.

Previous research has shown dietary fats can drastically throw off this balancing act, causing them to eat more food and burn fewer calories.

The drug – called PLX5622 – cut down their intake and reduced weight gain by 20 per cent compared to untreated peers on the same diet.

Another team at Washington University then genetically engineered mice to prevent microglia from activating inflammatory responses.

These mice also ate 15 per cent less and gained 40 per cent less weight on a high fat diet, suggesting it to be the cause of overeating.

To confirm this Professor Koliwad developed a strain of mice in which they could use a drug to activate the inflammatory response of microglia at will.

Even in mice fed a healthy, low-fat diet, forcing the microglia-induced inflammation caused them to eat 33 per cent more food and expend 12 per cent less energy.

This led to them putting on four times as much weight than untreated mice on the same healthy diet, the study showed.