Guest guest Posted March 11, 2002 Report Share Posted March 11, 2002 - http://www.ananova.com/yournews/story/sm_540602.html - Hormone that triggers hunger found A hunger-hormone that stimulates appetite has been discovered in humans for the first time. The effects of the hormone called ghrelin had only been observed in animals before. The discovery that it is active in humans could present researchers with new opportunities for combating obesity or tackling appetite loss. Scientists at Imperial College and Hammersmith Hospital, in London, carried out the research. Healthy volunteers were given a controlled dose of either ghrelin or a salt solution after which their food intake was carefully monitored. The results showed that volunteers who received the hormone consumed on average 28% more calories than those given the placebo. Sustaining even a tiny change in calorie intake can have a major impact on body weight over a long period of time. Estimates suggest that a 75 kilogram man persistently increasing his calorie intake by 1% would gain about 15 kg over 10 years. Dr Alison Wren, from Imperial College, said: " There is currently little effective medical treatment for obesity and we are very excited to have taken this step towards a future therapy. We hope that by targeting ghrelin with specific drugs, it may be possible to therapeutically control hunger. " Prof Steve Bloom, head of the Department of Metabolic Medicine at Hammersmith Hospital, said it may also be possible to use ghrelin to treat people who suffer a dangerous loss of appetite, such as cancer patients. Story filed: 00:20 Monday 11th March 2002 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 11, 2002 Report Share Posted March 11, 2002 Wouldn't it be better if they looked at what caused the ghrelin to over/under work and at ways of combating that instead of tryng to pump us full of more drugs..... Marianne > Dr Alison Wren, from Imperial College, said: " There is currently little > effective medical treatment for obesity and we are very excited to have > taken this step towards a future therapy. We hope that by targeting ghrelin > with specific drugs, it may be possible to therapeutically control hunger. " > > Prof Steve Bloom, head of the Department of Metabolic Medicine at > Hammersmith Hospital, said it may also be possible to use ghrelin to treat > people who suffer a dangerous loss of appetite, such as cancer patients. > > Story filed: 00:20 Monday 11th March 2002 > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.