Hormonal effects on eating, stress studied

MADISON, Wis., Sept. 26 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists have determined a hormone linked with reducing food consumption appears to do so by increasing stress-related behaviors.

Professors Vaishali Bakshi and Ned Kalin of the University of Wisconsin-Madison investigated a hormone receptor protein known as the corticotropin-releasing factor type 2, or CRF2, that has been linked with regulating food intake.

"With the increasing focus on obesity, people are interested in finding targets that can be used to develop drugs that will reduce appetite and food intake without a lot of side effects," Bakshi said.

Previous studies determined activation of the receptor decreased the amount of food voluntarily eaten by hungry rats, leading researchers to suggest the CRF2 receptor system might be a promising target for therapies to combat obesity.

However, Bakshi and Kalin found CRF2 receptors in a single brain region, the lateral septum, mediate both feeding and behaviors associated with stress, thereby suggesting the protein may not be an ideal therapeutic target.

The research appears in the Journal of Neuroscience.

Copyright 2007 by United Press International

NewsTrack: Hormonal effects on eating, stress studied