US EditionHow obesity drugs quiet ‘food noise’ in the brain
A study using implanted electrodes found tirzepatide suppresses brain signals linked to severe food cravings for up to four months before effects diminish.
- On Monday, Nature Medicine published that tirzepatide temporarily silenced craving-related nucleus accumbens signals for up to four months before effects abated.
- The trial implanted iEEG electrodes in the NAc to study cravings, enrolling participants with severe, treatment-resistant obesity including Participant 3, who was on high-dose tirzepatide for diabetes.
- Electrodes directly recorded NAc delta-theta low-frequency signals during intense food thoughts in all three participants, and two DBS recipients saw reduced signals with stimulation.
- The authors caution the study is preliminary, noting GLP-1 and GIP inhibitors reveal how they alter reward circuits but are too soon to call miracle drugs beyond diabetes and obesity.
- Clinically, up to 60 percent of people with obesity report 'food noise' and binge eating disorder affects more than 3 million in the US, yet GLP‑1/GIP drugs are not optimized or FDA‑approved for impulse control.
13 Articles
13 Articles
Science Alert
UpstractMounjaro's Effect on Brain's 'Cravings' Measured For The First Time
Popular drugs for diabetes and weight loss, like Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro, can have profound impacts on the body, but what about the brain? These medicines are thought to broadly suppress appetite and enhance feelings of fullness, but the actual way they achieve that in the human brain is poorly understood.
The cravings and robberies are brewed in the brain, and that’s where the new generation of slimming drugs works. This is what explains a research published this Monday in the scientific journal Nature Medicine. Neurologists at the University of Pennsylvania have had the rare opportunity to look into the brain of four obese people affected by the so-called attraction disorder. One of them was being treated with tirzepatide. This thinning drug pro…
The implantation of electrodes in a patient with obesity has made it possible to detect the trace of tirzepatide in the accumbens nucleus, opening a path of unprecedented research in the control of the unregulated diet Read
How obesity drugs quiet ‘food noise’ in the brain
Researchers have identified a neural biomarker of compulsive food cravings, and showed that it is suppressed by the weight-loss drug Mounjaro. Researchers have identified a neural biomarker of compulsive food cravings, and showed that it is suppressed by the weight-loss drug Mounjaro.
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 50% of the sources are Center
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
