14 DAY TRIAL // Interestingly, it would appear that some cases of obesity are caused by a single mutation, on a gene that is usually responsible for suppressing the signals that make us feel hungry. With this feedback mechanism knocked off, people have no way of knowing when they've had enough to eat.
Protein synthesis inside dendrites – branches of human nerve cells called neurons – has been found to play an important role in this regard, say investigators from the Georgetown University Medical Center.
“This discovery may open up novel strategies to help the brain control body weight,” says senior study investigator Baoji Xu, PhD, who is an associate professor of pharmacology and physiology at the Center.
The way in which the troublesome gene, called BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor), influences people's eating behaviors is detailed in the latest issue of the top scientific journal Nature Medicine, Science Daily reports.