14 DAY TRIAL // A team of Danish and British researchers are now working on developing a drug that would help fight obesity by curbing people's appetite and encouraging weight loss.
In The Journal of Biological Chemistry, the specialists detail that this drug that they hope to develop would target and activate a protein known to the scientific community as FFA4, EurekAlert informs.
This protein is naturally occurring in fat, immune cells, and cell membranes in intestines. As shown by previous investigations, it becomes activated when people eat certain foods, and it suppresses the appetite.
The problem is that, in the case of some people, FFA4 is not properly activated. According to the British and Danish researchers working on this project, this might explain why some people eat more and eventually become obese.
“In some people this protein is not activated and they have a much higher risk of becoming obese,” says specialist Bharat Shimpukade with the University of Southern Denmark.
“We want to find a way to activate this protein, because that may help us to develop a drug against obesity or diabetes,” the researcher goes on to explain.
Hoping to find the right molecules to activate this protein, the scientists have developed a computer model that allows them to carry out tests faster and easier.
However, Bharat Shimpukade and fellow researchers warn that it might be a while before they successfully develop a drug that can fight obesity, diabetes, and other related conditions.