DALLAS — A generally prescribed class of migraine drugs referred to as Triptans may show helpful within the battle towards weight problems. Scientists from UT Southwestern report a gaggle of overweight mice given a day by day dose of a triptan ate much less meals and misplaced weight over the course of a month.
“We’ve proven that there’s actual potential to repurpose these drugs, that are already recognized to be secure, for urge for food suppression and weight loss,” says study chief Chen Liu, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine and Neuroscience and an investigator within the Peter O’Donnell Jr. Brain Institute, in a college launch.
It’s presently estimated that weight problems impacts over 41 p.c of U.S. adults. Obesity is understood to extend an individual’s threat of coronary heart illness, stroke, diabetes, and even sure cancers.
Previous research have proven that serotonin, a chemical messenger discovered all through the mind and physique, performs a significant position in urge for food. However, there are literally 15 distinct forms of serotonin “receptors,” or molecules that may sense serotonin and consequently sign for cells to alter their conduct.
So far, science has largely struggled to make sense of the position every receptor sort performs in figuring out urge for food outcomes. For instance, earlier drugs like fen-phen and lorcaserin (Belviq) which solely goal sure particular person receptors have since been faraway from the market over their dangerous side-effects.
What makes triptans completely different?
Triptans are often used to deal with acute migraines and cluster complications. These drugs work by concentrating on a wholly completely different receptor – the serotonin 1B receptor (Htr1b). Until now, Htr1b had not been completely studied inside the context of urge for food and weight loss.
For this new undertaking, the analysis workforce examined six prescription triptans amongst a gaggle of overweight mice being fed a high-fat weight-reduction plan for seven weeks. Mice given two of the triptans ate roughly the identical quantity, however mice given any of the opposite 4 ended up consuming much less.
After 24 days, rodents who had been given a day by day dose of the drug frovatriptan confirmed a mean physique weight discount of three.6 p.c. Mice not given a triptan gained a mean of 5.1 p.c of their physique weight. Moreover, related findings have been famous when researchers implanted the rodents with a tool supplying a gradual dose of frovatriptan for twenty-four days.
“We discovered that these drugs, and one particularly, can decrease physique weight and enhance glucose metabolism in lower than a month, which is fairly spectacular,” Dr. Liu provides.
Why don’t migraine sufferers often lose weight?
Dr. Liu theorizes sufferers haven’t seen the longer-term impacts (or advantages when you’re seeking to lose weight) of those drugs but as a result of triptans are sometimes solely prescribed for short-term use to deal with migraines.
In order to find out how precisely frovatriptan influences consuming habits and weight outcomes, the analysis workforce engineered a gaggle of mice missing both Htr1b or Htr2c (the serotonin receptor focused by fen-phen and lorcaserin). Mice with out Htr1b didn’t expertise the identical weight loss or urge for food discount whereas taking frovatriptan. Cutting out Htr2c, nevertheless, had no impact. This confirms, researchers clarify, that the drugs work through the concentrating on of the serotonin 1B receptor.
“This discovering might be essential for drug improvement,” Dr. Liu concludes. “We not solely make clear the potential to repurpose present triptans however also introduced consideration to Htr1b as a candidate to deal with weight problems and regulate meals consumption.”
The analysis workforce was even in a position to find precisely which neurons within the mind have been most essential to Htr1b when it got here time to mediate urge for food — zeroing in on a small group of cells inside the mind’s hypothalamus.
The study is printed within the Journal of Experimental Medicine.
https://www.studyfinds.org/migraine-drug-weight-loss/
