The new vaccine targets and works against the hormone ghrelin
(pronounced "grell-in"). Ghrelin is a naturally occurring hormone that
helps regulate energy balance in the body. The vaccine may put an end
to the problem of “yo-yo” dieting, and in animal models at least, has
been shown to put an end to that risky and often futile struggle.
Ghrelin was identified in 1999 as a natural gastric endocrine hormone
produced primarily in the stomach. Ghrelin is known to promote weight
gain and fat storage through its metabolic actions, decreasing the
breakdown of stored fat for energy as well as curbing energy expenditure
itself. During periods of weight loss, such as dieting, the body
produces high levels of ghrelin to slow down fat metabolism, encourage
eating, and promote fat retention. These changes make it difficult to
lose weight and keep it off.
"The study shows our vaccine slows weight gain and decreases stored fat
in rats," said a senior author Kim Janda, Ph.D. "While food intake was
unchanged in all testing groups, those who were given the most effective
vaccines gained the least amount of weight. To have an impact on
appetite and weight gain, ghrelin first has to move from the bloodstream
into the brain-where, over long periods, it stimulates the retention of
a level of stored energy as fat. Our study is the first published
evidence proving that preventing ghrelin from reaching the central
nervous system can produce a desired reduction in weight gain." Kim Jr.
Professor of Chemistry at Scripps Research, a member of The Skaggs
Institute for Chemical Biology, and director of the Worm Institute of
Research and Medicine.
Ghrelin, a, plays a physiological role in energy homeostasis, although
the full extent of that role remains unknown. "We’re not claiming that
our study answers the question of obesity treatment once and for all,"
Janda said. "What we are saying, and what our study confirms, is that
this looks like a serious workable solution to the problem. And while
much more research is needed to understand the full therapeutic
potential of immunopharmacotherapy in combating obesity, these initial
results are extremely positive. Right now it appears that active
vaccination against ghrelin is one avenue that can slow weight gain and
fat build-up in the body."
It may not matter how much you eat, when it comes to gaining weight.
Eric Zorrilla, Ph.D., a Scripps Research assistant professor, member of
the Harold L. Dorris Neurological Research Institute, and a lead author
of the study, said, "The rats who received the most effective vaccines
didn’t eat differently than the others, including the control models.
That makes our findings exciting therapeutically-the vaccine slows the
rate of weight gain, while still allowing for normal eating habits. A
vaccine against ghrelin also is particularly compelling in terms of the
well-documented problems of human dieting. When you diet, the body
responds as if it was starving and produces ghrelin to slow down fat
metabolism and stimulate eating, changes meant to help retain and regain
body fat. As a result, many people end up regaining the weight they lost
and more once they go off their diets. This vaccine may have the real
potential to prevent or seriously reduce yo-yo dieting, the repetitive
cycle of weight loss and gain, because it interferes with ghrelin’s
ability to promote weight gain and fat accumulation."
Marsh Quinn
Writer
Books on Dieting
Keywords and misspellings: deit pills hoodia rimonabant
rinomabant rinonant rinomabent wieght watchers
