Appetite News and Research

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Researchers develop new cry analyzer to look for clues about baby's health

To parents, a baby's cry is a signal of hunger, pain, or discomfort. But to scientists, subtle acoustic features of a cry, many of them imperceptible to the human ear, can hold important information about a baby's health.

12 Jul 2013

Research: Boosting levels of gut hormones may be effective weapon in fight against obesity

In the constant cross talk between our brain and our gut, two gut hormones are already known to tell the brain when we have had enough to eat. New research suggests that boosting levels of these hormones simultaneously may be an effective new weapon in the fight against obesity.

10 Jul 2013

Spanish doctors perform more than 1,500 POSE weight loss procedures

Spanish doctors are leading the way by performing more than 1,500 procedures of the scar-free, non invasive, weight loss method of Primary Obesity Surgery, Endolumenal, known as POSE. Over thirty Spanish doctors have now performed more cases in Spain (where 1 in 6 people are obese) than in any other part of the world.

8 Jul 2013

Community for Zero Hunger launched to fight against hunger and malnutrition

There are more than 870 million people who are hungry and malnourished around the world. As we look toward 2050, we will have a third more mouths to feed, which will further strain systems, the environment and communities. Building sustainable, specific and multi-sectoral responses to ending hunger, and creating a food- and nutrition-secure world are urgent.

27 Jun 2013

Prader-Willi syndrome results in dysregulation of circadian and metabolic genes

Researchers with the UC Davis MIND Institute and Agilent Laboratories have found that Prader-Willi syndrome - a genetic disorder best known for causing an insatiable appetite that can lead to morbid obesity - is associated with the loss of non-coding RNAs, resulting in the dysregulation of circadian and metabolic genes, accelerated energy expenditure and metabolic differences during sleep.

26 Jun 2013

Hunger not only modifies behaviour, but also changes pathways in brain

Hungry people are often difficult to deal with. A good meal can affect more than our mood, it can also influence our willingness to take risks. This phenomenon is also apparent across a very diverse range of species in the animal kingdom.

26 Jun 2013

Does coffee influence appetite?

Can’t start the day without your coffee? Is that a bad thing? Studies have shown that coffee has a large number of protective health benefits, such as reducing the risks of diabetes, stroke, some forms of cancer, mental illness, and overall mortality. But how does it affect your appetite?

24 Jun 2013

Exposure to high-fat diet in womb leads to increased body fat in offspring

Exposure to a high-fat diet in the womb and after birth can permanently change the cells in the brain that control food intake, predisposing monkeys to overeating and an increased preference for fatty and sugary foods, a new study finds. The results were presented Monday at The Endocrine Society's 95th Annual Meeting in San Francisco.

18 Jun 2013

Ibrutinib monotherapy shows efficacy in patients with MCL or DLBCL

Pharmacyclics, Inc. today announced the results of two separate Phase 2 studies suggesting that ibrutinib, an investigational oral Bruton's tyrosine kinase inhibitor, showed efficacy when used as a monotherapy in patients with relapsed/refractory mantle cell lymphoma or diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

17 Jun 2013

Scientists develop new tool for analyzing and characterizing aspects of the brain's neural circuitry

Scientists at the University of Massachusetts Medical School have developed a novel transgenic system which allows them to remotely activate individual brain cells in the model organism Drosophila using ambient temperature.

17 Jun 2013

Research: Deep brain stimulation is associated with weight loss trend in morbidly obese patients

The first use of deep brain stimulation to the brain's so-called "feeding center" - the lateral hypothalamic area (LHA) - was associated with a weight loss trend in morbidly obese patients whose stimulation was tuned to increase metabolism with novel guidance from metabolic chamber data, according to a pilot study presented at the International Neuromodulation Society's 11th World Congress by Dr. Michael Oh of the Department of Neurosurgery at the Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh, Pa.

14 Jun 2013

Viewpoints: 'Tyranny' over insurers; Obama's promises; Rep. Franks's abortion claim

Many of us wish that Obamacare were a simpler system, one that directly provided health insurance. Political reality, unfortunately, ensured that many people will receive coverage from private insurers, selling policies - often with subsidies - on the "exchanges". And naturally enough, the Obama administration is teaming up with the insurers and other parts of the health industry to help inform Americans of the benefits to which they will be legally entitled, starting Jan. 1 (Paul Krugman, 6/12).

14 Jun 2013

BUSM professor receives USDA grant to study children with SHCN in low-income homes

Ruth Rose-Jacobs, ScD, associate professor of pediatrics at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and a research scientist at Boston Medical Center (BMC), has received funding for a two-year study to examine the association between the presence of young children with special healthcare needs in households and food insecurity.

13 Jun 2013

District policies and state laws help reduce sugar and fat laden foods in elementary schools

District policies and state laws help reduce the availability of sugar- and fat-laden foods and beverages in elementary schools, according to a study published online in JAMA Pediatrics.

13 Jun 2013

Growth patterns in 2 months old infants help predict child's weight by age 5

Infants as young as two months old already exhibit growth patterns that can predict the child's weight by age 5, according to researchers at Case Western Reserve University's Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing and Tennessee State University.

11 Jun 2013

Drug regulators slow to pursue concerns about potential adverse effects of new diabetes drugs

The BMJ and Channel 4 Dispatches investigated and found that evidence suggesting potential harm from the drugs in industry studies has not been published.

10 Jun 2013

Cancer cells' appetite for sugar may have serious consequences for immune cell function

Cancer cells' appetite for sugar may have serious consequences for immune cell function, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have learned.

7 Jun 2013

Altered function of neural circuitry contributes to bulimia and anorexia

Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa -disorders characterized by extreme eating behavior and distorted body image - are among the deadliest of psychiatric disorders, with few proven effective treatments.

4 Jun 2013

Food insecurity increases risk of death among injection drug users living with HIV/AIDS

Food insecurity increases the risk of death among injection drug users living with HIV/AIDS even when they are receiving life-prolonging antiretroviral therapy (ART), according to a new study involving Simon Fraser University.

1 Jun 2013

Extremely low doses of THC protect the brain from long-term cognitive damage

Though marijuana is a well-known recreational drug, extensive scientific research has been conducted on the therapeutic properties of marijuana in the last decade. Medical cannabis is often used by sufferers of chronic ailments, including cancer and post-traumatic stress disorder, to combat pain, insomnia, lack of appetite, and other symptoms.

31 May 2013