Hypothalamus News and Research

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

Scientists discover mechanism that regulates prolactin hormone

A mechanism for regulating the hormone prolactin has newly been revealed by scientists at Karolinska Institutet. The results are to be published in the scientific journal Neuron, and may be significant for conditions and functions such as breast-feeding, sexual libido, and metabolism.

28 Jan 2010

Blocking CRF may prevent excessive alcohol consumption

A team of scientists from The Scripps Research Institute has found that a specific stress hormone, the corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF), is key to the development and maintenance of alcohol dependence in animal models.

28 Jan 2010

Safe natural extracts reduce hunger and help control appetite

Klaumwell Research Labs, LLC, U.S., a subsidiary of Italian multinational Medestea Internazionale, announced positive results from a double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical study published in the prestigious, peer-reviewed International Journal of Obesity which demonstrates the efficacy of key ingredients contained in a new appetite control spray. Fullfast™ is a clinically tested dietary supplement that helps reduce excessive feelings of hunger.

28 Jan 2010

Findings may provide new insights into diabetes; suggest novel targets for drug intervention

The neuropeptide corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) makes cameo appearances throughout the body, but its leading role is as the opening act in the stress response, jump-starting the process along the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have found that CRF also plays a part in the pancreas, where it increases insulin secretion and promotes the division of the insulin-producing beta cells.

22 Jan 2010

Depomed plans additional Serada Phase 3 trial for treatment of menopausal hot flashes

Depomed, Inc. announced today it has received guidance from the FDA in formal meeting minutes from a meeting held in December regarding SeradaTM, the company’s extended release gabapentin product candidate for the treatment of menopausal hot flashes. Based on guidance reflected in the meeting minutes, Depomed plans to conduct a single additional pivotal Phase 3 trial evaluating Serada for the treatment of menopausal hot flashes.

20 Jan 2010

New findings may yield novel therapies for chronic neurodegenerative diseases

We all have at one time or another experienced the typical signs of an infection: the fever, the listlessness, the lack of appetite. They are orchestrated by the brain in response to circulating cytokines, the signaling molecules of the immune system. But just how cytokines' reach extends beyond the almost impenetrable blood-brain barrier has been the topic of much dispute.

18 Jan 2010

Citicoline supplements may reduce cravings and increase satiety

The obesity crisis in the United States has now grown to epidemic proportion. And as the list of consequential health conditions and diseases continues to expand as well, there are major movements toward helping Americans lose weight.

5 Jan 2010

Discovery of inhibitory hormone may yield new treatments for cancer and other diseases

Nearly 10 years after the discovery that birds make a hormone that suppresses reproduction, University of California, Berkeley, neuroscientists have established that humans make it too, opening the door to development of a new class of contraceptive and possible treatments for cancer or other diseases.

23 Dec 2009

Australian scientists show connections between brain and regulation of bone mass

The brain acts as a profound regulatory centre, controlling myriad processes throughout the body in ways we are only just beginning to understand. In new findings, Australian scientists have shown surprising connections between the brain and regulation of bone mass.

23 Dec 2009

Arena Pharmaceuticals submits lorcaserin NDA to the FDA

Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that it has submitted a New Drug Application (NDA) to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for lorcaserin, Arena's internally discovered and developed drug candidate for weight management, including weight loss and maintenance of weight loss. The submission is based on an extensive data package from lorcaserin's clinical development program that includes 18 clinical trials totaling 8,576 patients.

22 Dec 2009

Higher leptin levels associated with lower incidence of AD and dementia

Persons with higher levels of leptin, a protein hormone produced by fat cells and involved in the regulation of appetite, may have an associated reduced incidence of Alzheimer disease and dementia, according to a study in the December 16 issue of JAMA.

16 Dec 2009

Arena Pharmaceuticals' lorcaserin demonstrates low abuse potential

Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. reported that positive data from a clinical trial evaluating the abuse potential of lorcaserin were presented in a poster session at the 48th Annual Meeting of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology. Data from the trial demonstrate that the risk for abuse associated with lorcaserin is very low.

11 Dec 2009

Body needs fasting periods to stay healthy

A body that is provided with food too often gets caught up in the maelstrom of a lack of exercise, obesity and ultimately diabetes. The trigger is a molecular switch that is controlled by insulin, a new study by scientists from ETH Zurich has revealed.

3 Dec 2009

Exposure to gas fumes can increase aggressive behavior

Outrageous prices may not be the only thing causing anger at the petrol pumps. A new study, published in the open access journal BMC Physiology, has shown that rats exposed to fumes from leaded and unleaded gasoline become more aggressive.

24 Nov 2009

The Center for Modeling Optimal Outcomes discovers causal path of autism

During its research into the application of neuroscience in business, a New Jersey based think tank, The Center for Modeling Optimal Outcomes®, LLC (The Center) made an inadvertent and amazing discovery.

18 Nov 2009

Ipsen receives marketing authorization in France for its 6-month sustained-release formulation of Decapeptyl

Ipsen, an innovation-driven global specialty pharmaceutical Group announces that the French regulatory authorities (Agence Française de Sécurité Sanitaire des Produits de Santé, AFSSAPS) have today granted the marketing authorization to the 6-month sustained-release formulation of Decapeptyl® (triptorelin embonate 22.5 mg) for the treatment of locally advanced and metastatic prostate cancer.

13 Nov 2009

Arena Pharmaceuticals presents data from its Phase 3 trial of LOrcaserin

Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. reported today data from the pivotal BLOSSOM (Behavioral modification and LOrcaserin Second Study for Obesity Management) Phase 3 trial that demonstrate improvements in patients' body composition, cardiovascular risk factors and quality of life. These findings add to the previously announced top-line BLOSSOM data that showed highly significant weight loss with lorcaserin over one year of treatment in 4,008 patients.

28 Oct 2009

Hypothalamic dysfunction can cause Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Dr. Oz's guest Jacob Teitelbaum, MD, best-selling author of From Fatigued to Fantastic! (Avery Penguin Group) and Pain Free 1-2-3 (McGraw-Hill), suffered from CFS when he was in medical school and had to drop out for a year to recover.

24 Oct 2009

Debiopharm Group and Ipsen complete European decentralised registration of Decapeptyl

Debiopharm Group (Debiopharm), a Swiss-based global biopharmaceutical group of companies with a focus on the development of prescription drugs that target unmet medical needs, and Ipsen (Euronext: FR0010259150; IPN), an innovation-driven global specialty pharmaceutical Group, announced that the 6-month sustained-release formulation of Decapeptyl®1 (triptorelin embonate2 22.5 mg) successfully completed its European decentralised registration procedure involving nine countries: Germany (reference member state), France, Austria, Finland, Norway, Belgium, Denmark, Spain and The Netherlands.

13 Oct 2009

Arena Pharmaceuticals to present Phase 3 BLOSSOM trial results at Obesity 2009

Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ARNA) announced today that lorcaserin will be featured in multiple presentations at Obesity 2009, the 27th Annual Scientific Meeting of The Obesity Society in Washington, DC.

12 Oct 2009