Experimental Parkinson's Therapy May Have Robust Weight-loss Effect
Thursday, April 2, 2009 - 02:14
in Health & Medicine
A growth factor used to rescue dying brain cells may cause unwanted weight loss if placed in specific brain regions -- a cautionary warning for experimental treatments to treat Parkinson's disease that use GDNF, short for glial cell-line derived neurotrophic factor. In addition, the finding broadens understanding of the brain's role in the regulation of metabolism and body weight, suggesting that gene therapy techniques in the brain potentially could control obesity.