Newswise — PHILADELPHIA (July 10, 2024) – The next chapter in the story of headline-making popular obesity drugs may center on the physiological relationship between feeling satisfied after a meal versus the neurological control of nausea. By teasing apart the therapeutic benefits from the adverse effects of these medications, researchers from the Monell Chemical Senses Center found a population of neurons in the brain that controls food intake without causing nausea in an animal model. The study, published today in the journal Nature , describes two distinct neural circuits that govern different effects of the same drug.
The drugs studied are among the most effective weight-loss drugs available - known as long-acting glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GLP1R) agonists - which initiate neurochemical responses via receptors expressed in the body. One of the most effective and popular GLP1-based drugs - called semaglutide and marketed as Ozempic® and Wegovy®- produces impressive weight loss results in clinical trials. According to the World Health Organization, in 2022, 1 in 8 people globally were living with obesity, making the development of drugs like these of dire importance.
“One of the barriers to drug treatments for obesity is side effects such as nausea and vomiting,” said senior author Amber L. Alhadeff , PhD, Monell Assistant Member. “We did not have a good idea of whether these unpleasant side effects are related or necessary for the weight-loss effects.
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