A new study is being done on the effects of Leptin Gene therapy in rats. Researchers have been led to believe that with this new found therapy, people suffering from obesity could see long term results in weight loss. Leptin is a hormone secreted by adipose cells, which plays a role in regulating energy balance by curbing hunger. It sends signals to the brain telling a person when to stop eating. The amount of the hormone secreted depends upon the amount of body fat a person has. Though it has been proven that the overweight and obese population have an increased amount of this hormone, the brain actually stops responding to the hormone, causing weight gain.
Exercise and dieting has proven to be efficient, but over time, success depreciates. So researchers are hoping that with this new gene therapy, patients will see prolonged positive results. More research is needed to test the efficiency and safety of this therapy, but researchers expect a positive outcome from the studies.
I found this article very interesting. There are so many success stories heard of people loosing hundred of pound, just to gain it all back in a few years. There are many medical and non-medical procedures that a person can take to overcome obesity, including leptin supplements; however, none of these have proven to prolong results if someone reverts back to old habits. I expect this research to take quite a while to determine if this therapy is safe due to the procedure, but if it does hit the market, I could see many people pleased with the results.
Check out the full article here!
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