Leptin News and Research

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Leptin is a 16 kDa protein hormone that plays a key role in regulating energy intake and energy expenditure, including appetite and metabolism. It is one of the most important adipose derived hormones. The ''Ob(Lep)'' gene (Ob for obese, Lep for leptin) is located on chromosome 7 in humans.

Fatty food and brain damage: Study finds connection

US scientists found a sudden change to a high-fat diet triggered inflammation in a key area of rodent brains responsible for regulating body weight. The inflammation produced distinctive scarring similar to that seen in stroke patients - and that brain scarring was then observed in humans who were overweight.

28 Dec 2011

Working night shifts may raise risk of diabetes: Study

About 26% percent of the American workforce, including health-care workers and sanitation staff, need to work night shifts. Earlier research has shown that regular night shifts may disrupt the circadian rhythm, raising the risk of heart disease, obesity, ulcers and even depression.

8 Dec 2011

Transplantation of new neurons into damaged area of the brain could restore brain functions

Without neurons reacting to the blood leptin level, the brain does not control the feeling of hunger and fullness. This type of genetic defects results in severe obesity in humans and animals.

25 Nov 2011

Researchers take a step toward neuronal replacement therapy

A new study has revealed that immature neurons taken from healthy mouse embryos can repair damaged brain circuitry and partially normalize metabolism when transplanted into adult mice that have grown morbidly obese due to a genetic deficiency.

24 Nov 2011

Carefully selected young, healthy neurons can repair brain circuitry

Neuron transplants have repaired brain circuitry and substantially normalized function in mice with a brain disorder, an advance indicating that key areas of the mammalian brain are more reparable than was widely believed.

24 Nov 2011

CUMC presents 2011 Naomi Berrie Award to UMDNJ researcher

Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) presented the 2011 Naomi Berrie Award to Barry E. Levin, MD, a University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey researcher whose work focuses on the mechanisms by which specialized metabolic-sensing neurons regulate glucose and energy homeostasis. Junior investigator Kazuhisa Watanabe, at Columbia University Medical Center, received a Berrie Fellow award.

22 Nov 2011

Study: Metabolic syndrome biomarkers predict decline in lung function after WTC dust exposure

Metabolic syndrome biomarkers predict subsequent decline in lung function after particulate exposure, according to new research involving rescue personnel exposed to World Trade Center (WTC) dust.

19 Nov 2011

Human body better at fighting gum disease when fat cells disappear

Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine researchers found the human body is better at fighting gum disease when fat cells, which trigger inflammation, disappear.

10 Nov 2011

Specific metabolic disturbances precede children's progression to Type 1 diabetes

New potential avenues for early disease detection and prevention: A study led by Matej Orešič from VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland suggests that autoimmune diabetes is preceded by diminished gut microbial diversity of the Clostridium leptum subgroup, elevated plasma leptin and enhanced glucose-stimulated insulin secretion.

29 Oct 2011

Yo-yo dieting can affect appetite hormones for up to a year

A new study suggests that the ‘yo-yo’ effect that dieters experience of shedding pounds and gaining them back may be due to the persistence of hormones that drive the urge to eat even a year after weight loss.

27 Oct 2011

Short sleep duration linked to weight gain in teens

Sleeping less than 8 hours a night may be linked to weight gain in teens, shows a new study presented at CHEST 2011, the 77th annual meeting of the American College of Chest Physicians.

24 Oct 2011

Study links leptin levels with symptoms of depression, anxiety

A new study has for the first time in humans linked levels of leptin, a hormone produced by fat cells, with symptoms of depression and anxiety independent of weight.

21 Oct 2011

Scientists reveal how resistance to hormone leptin develops

The effects of obesity - both on our bodies and on the health budget - are well known, and now, scientists are getting closer to understanding how the disease progresses, providing clues for future treatments.

15 Oct 2011

EMBO, EMBC and Singapore sign cooperation agreement

Scientists in Singapore and Europe will have new avenues for scientific interaction, following a cooperation agreement between EMBO, its intergovernmental funding body, EMBC, and the government of Singapore.

14 Oct 2011

Elevating free radical levels suppresses appetite in obese mice

Obesity is growing at alarming rates worldwide, and the biggest culprit is overeating. In a study of brain circuits that control hunger and satiety, Yale School of Medicine researchers have found that molecular mechanisms controlling free radicals-molecules tied to aging and tissue damage-are at the heart of increased appetite in diet-induced obesity.

29 Aug 2011

Researchers identify five SNPs linked with aggressive, lethal prostate cancer

An international team of researchers led by Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center has identified five inherited genetic variants that are strongly associated with aggressive, lethal prostate cancer.

17 Aug 2011

Study suggests link between pre-pregnancy obesity and asthma symptoms in teen children

Mums who are overweight or obese when they become pregnant may be programming their children to have asthma-like respiratory symptoms during adolescence, suggests research published online in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

16 Aug 2011

Takeda, Amylin discontinue pramlintide/metreleptin development program for obesity

Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited today announced that they are discontinuing development of pramlintide/metreleptin, an investigational combination therapy for the treatment of obesity that comprises pramlintide, an analog of the natural hormone amylin, and metreleptin, an analog of the natural hormone leptin.

5 Aug 2011

Both body and brain mechanisms are involved in effects of exercise to modulate food intake

Research to be presented at the upcoming annual meeting of the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior (SSIB), the foremost society for research into all aspects of eating and drinking behavior, finds that alterations of meal-related gut hormone signals may contribute to the overall effects of exercise to help manage body weight.

13 Jul 2011

Molasses supplementation may reduce obesity in humans

Experimental results to be presented at the upcoming annual meeting of the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior (SSIB), the foremost society for research into all aspects of eating and drinking behavior, suggests that dietary supplementation with molasses extract may provide a novel approach for weight management in humans.

12 Jul 2011