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A new study has found that when rats are fed a high fat diet, it disrupts their brain’s body clock which normally controls satiety, leading to overeating and obesity. The results of the study were published in “The Journal of Physiology”.
The number of obese people has almost tripled worldwide since 1975. In England alone, 28% of adults are obese and 36% are overweight.
Obesity can lead to several other diseases such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and some types of cancer. This new research could be a cornerstone for future clinical studies that could restore the proper functioning of the biological clock in the brain, to avoid overeating.
Historically, it was believed that the main body clock was located only in a part of the brain called the hypothalamus. However, other research over the years has clarified that some control over our body’s daily rhythms (hormone levels, appetite, etc.) resides in several other parts of the brain and body, including a group of neurons in the old, evolving brainstem, called the dorsal vagal complex (DVC).
Specifically, DVC has been shown to control food intake by inducing satiety. Research has also shown that in obesity, the daily rhythms of food intake and the release of diet-related hormones are blunted or eliminated.
However, it has not been clear whether dysfunction of the brain centers controlling appetite is a cause or a result of obesity. This new research conducted at Jagiellonian University in Krakow in collaboration with the University of Bristol found that rats fed a high fat diet before they started to gain weight showed changes in daily neural rhythms. of DVC and the response of these neurons to appetite hormones. .
Thus, the researchers propose that the disruption of the timing of the DVC leads to obesity, rather than being the result of excessive body weight. The research was carried out on two groups of rats: those fed a well-balanced control diet (10% kcal from fat) and a high fat diet (70% kcal from fat).
To mimic the impact of an unhealthy diet on humans, the researchers introduced the new diet to adolescent rats (4 weeks old) and monitored their food intake for 24 hours for four consecutive weeks. Electrophysiological recordings were made to measure the evolution of the neuronal activity of the DVC over 24 hours.
The use of multi-electrode networks made it possible to simultaneously monitor around 100 DVC neurons from each slice of the brainstem. This allowed researchers to assess circadian changes in neuronal activity as well as neuronal responses to metabolically relevant hormones in each of the diet groups.
Although the human and murine brainstem share common characteristics, the main limitation of the study for its immediate translation in humans is that it was performed in nocturnal animals (rats). The peak in DVC activity was observed at the end of the day, which is the resting phase for rodents, but an active phase for humans. Thus, it remains to be established whether the phase of the brainstem clock is regulated today and at night, or whether it depends on patterns of rest and activity.
This study opens up new research opportunities to try to establish the strategy to restore the function of the biological clock of the DVC and thus help fight against obesity. Dr Lukasz Chrobok, lead author of the study, said: “I am really excited about this research because of the possibilities it opens up to tackle the growing health problem of obesity. We still don’t know what time cues may be used to reset or synchronize the brainstem clock. “
Dr Chrobok concluded: “I hope that restoring daily rhythms in this satiety center before or after the onset of obesity may offer new therapeutic opportunities. “(ANI)
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(This story was not edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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