Hypothalamus News and Research

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The Hypothalamus is the area of the brain that controls body temperature, hunger, and thirst.

Yale researchers find that hormone leptin may help treat metabolic disorders

Twenty years after the hormone leptin was found to regulate metabolism, appetite, and weight through brain cells called neurons, Yale School of Medicine researchers have found that the hormone also acts on other types of cells to control appetite.

2 Jun 2014

FDA approves Trimel’s Natesto nasal gel to treat adult males with low testosterone

Trimel Pharmaceuticals Corporation announced today that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Natesto (testosterone), formerly CompleoTRT, the first and only testosterone nasal gel for replacement therapy in adult males for conditions associated with a deficiency or absence of endogenous testosterone.

29 May 2014

Circadian disruption during chemotherapy linked to greater fatigue and body weight loss, says study

The circadian system, better known as our biological clock, is responsible for coordinating all the processes that take place in our organism.

21 May 2014

Research helps unpick long-standing mystery about how dietary fibre supresses appetite

New research has helped unpick a long-standing mystery about how dietary fibre supresses appetite. In a study led by Imperial College London and the Medical Research Council (MRC), an international team of researchers identified an anti-appetite molecule called acetate that is naturally released when we digest fibre in the gut.

30 Apr 2014

Oxytocin promotes group-serving dishonesty, says study

According to a new study by researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) and the University of Amsterdam, oxytocin caused participants to lie more to benefit their groups, and to do so more quickly and without expectation of reciprocal dishonesty from their group.

2 Apr 2014

Wen Dan Tang significantly reduces insomnia-related anxiety

Ghrelin, a brain-gut peptide that induces anxiety and other abnormal emotions, contributes to the effects of insomnia on emotional behavior. In contrast, the traditional Chinese Medicine remedy Wen Dan Tang reduces insomnia-related anxiety, which may perhaps correspond to changes in the brain-gut axis.

1 Apr 2014

Going on a double date may be more effective at reigniting passion in own relationship, says study

Going on a double date may be more effective at reigniting passion in your own relationship than the classic candlelit dinner for two. According to new research, striking up a friendship with another couple in which you discuss personal details of your life will bring you closer to your own partner.

11 Feb 2014

Ipsen’s phase III clinical trial evaluating Decapeptyl in patients with prostate cancer meets primary endpoints

Ipsen today announced that the phase III clinical trial evaluating Decapeptyl (triptorelin pamoate) 11.25 mg administered subcutaneously in patients with locally advanced or metastatic prostate cancer has met its primary endpoints.

10 Feb 2014

Study examines risks and benefits of testosterone therapy for older men

According to a statement issued today by the Endocrine Society, the risks and benefits of testosterone therapy for older men with declining levels of the hormone need to be fully evaluated.

10 Feb 2014

New study provides important understanding of what drives appetite

While the function of eating is to nourish the body, this is not what actually compels us to seek out food. Instead, it is hunger, with its stomach-growling sensations and gnawing pangs that propels us to the refrigerator - or the deli or the vending machine. Although hunger is essential for survival, abnormal hunger can lead to obesity and eating disorders, widespread problems now reaching near-epidemic proportions around the world.

9 Feb 2014

Researchers pinpoint neural circuitry that promotes stress-induced anxiety

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, over 18 percent of American adults suffer from anxiety disorders, characterized as excessive worry or tension that often leads to other physical symptoms. Previous studies of anxiety in the brain have focused on the amygdala, an area known to play a role in fear.

31 Jan 2014

TherapeuticsMD starts TX 12-002-HR phase 3 clinical trial for secondary amenorrhea

TherapeuticsMD, Inc., a women's healthcare company, announced today that it has initiated the SPRY Trial, a randomized, placebo-controlled phase 3 clinical trial designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of TX 12-002-HR, its oral progesterone candidate for secondary amenorrhea, a condition treated to maintain fertility in young premenopausal women.

24 Jan 2014

BRAF mutation associated with other cancers appears to drive papillary craniopharyngiomas

A team led by investigators from Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Women's Hospital and the Broad Institute has found that a gene mutation associated with several types of cancer also may be responsible for a rare but debilitating brain tumor called papillary craniopharyngioma.

13 Jan 2014

Study sheds light on the biological underpinnings of obesity

A new neuroscience study sheds light on the biological underpinnings of obesity. The in vivo study, published in the January 8 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience, reveals how a protein in the brain helps regulate food intake and body weight. The findings reveal a potential new avenue for the treatment of obesity and may help explain why medications that are prescribed for epilepsy and other conditions that interfere with this protein, such as gabapentin and pregabalin, can cause weight gain.

7 Jan 2014

New research shows that the brain can produce and release estrogen

A University of Wisconsin-Madison research team reports today that the brain can produce and release estrogen - a discovery that may lead to a better understanding of hormonal changes observed from before birth throughout the entire aging process.

5 Dec 2013

Pregnant women may transmit effects of stress to child by way of bacteria in vagina and placenta

Pregnant women may transmit the damaging effects of stress to their unborn child by way of the bacteria in their vagina and through the placenta, suggest new findings from two animal studies presented by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania at Neuroscience 2013, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience.

12 Nov 2013

Study shows that different brain regions process different types of fear

What do bullies and sex have in common? Based on work by scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Monterotondo, Italy, it seems that the same part of the brain reacts to both.

11 Nov 2013

Diets and the famine reaction: an interview with Associate Professor Amanda Salis, University of Sydney

The statistic that you often hear is that 95% of diets fail, but in actual fact, emerging research is now showing that it’s around 70% of diets that fail. That means that around 30% of people who are losing weight are actually keeping it off. So we’re doing better now than we were doing in the past, but there’s still work to be done.

7 Nov 2013

Normal blood sugar regulation depends on partnership between pancreas and brain

A growing body of evidence suggests that the brain plays a key role in glucose regulation and the development of type 2 diabetes, researchers write in the Nov. 7 issue of the journal Nature.

6 Nov 2013

Researchers highlight presence of specific antibodies that regulate appetite in obese patients

Obesity affects more than 15% of adults in France, and its constitutive mechanisms are still not completely explained. Normally, fine control of weight and food intake is coordinated by a specialised part of the brain (the hypothalamus).

31 Oct 2013