New clues to using fat to stop hunger

LONDON - Scientists have found clues to how a naturally occurring fat compound blocks hunger, which could pave the way for a new class of safer anti-obesity drugs.

In a study published in the journal Nature, scientists at the University of California at Irvine said they had shown how the fatty acid oleyethelanolamide (OEA) - found naturally in the diet - bonds with cells to send the body a signal to stop eating.

"In earlier studies we found that OEA can be an important regulator of eating behaviour, but we didn't know how it worked," said Daniele Piomelli, professor of psychiatry and pharmacology at the university's medical college.

The researchers fed high-fat diets to two groups of mice, one normal and one mutant group which had had cell receptors that interact with OEA genetically removed.

After the mice were fattened up, they were treated with OEA for four weeks. Normal mice ate less and lost weight with the treatment.

But it had no effect on the mice with their cell receptors removed.

This suggested that cell receptors play a key role in how the fat communicates to the body to stop eating.

In the normal mice, OEA also lowered cholesterol levels by reducing levels of hunger-inducing nitric oxide molecules.

"This shows the receptors are not only necessary for the hunger-curbing and weight-reducing actions of OEA, but may also contribute to the overall stability and maintenance of our feeding system," said Mr Piomelli.

Other man-made drugs that are now being tested for obesity work in similar ways. But they are seen as potentially more toxic than naturally occurring OEA, she said.

- REUTERS