Appetite cure -- right from CNN & AP

[Guest guest]

(AP) -- Scientists say an enzyme in the brain that monitors energy in

cells also appears to regulate appetite and weight, a discovery that

could lead to new treatments for obesity.

The enzyme is known as AMP-activated protein kinase, or AMPK. Its

activity is regulated by the hormone leptin, which previously was

linked to appetite suppression.

Harvard researchers found in experiments with mice that when AMPK was

inhibited, the animals ate less and lost weight. When AMPK levels

were boosted, the mice ate more and gained weight.

Barbara B. Kahn, the lead author of the study, said the work

identifies a new leptin signaling pathway and a promising new target

in humans.

" It will affect drug development and approaches for new preventions

and treatments, " Kahn said.

The study appears Wednesday in an online version of the journal

Nature.

Dr. Cummings, a University of Washington obesity researcher who

was not involved in the work, said the findings complement recent

work in Britain in which the hormone ghrelin, an appetite-stimulating

hormone, also was found to affect AMPK levels.

Almost a third of American adults are obese, up from 14 percent a

generation ago, according to government data. Only a few prescription

weight-control drugs are on the market, and they produce only modest

weight loss, either by suppressing appetite or by preventing the body

from digesting and absorbing fats.

Cummings said studies show that hormone replacement therapy won't be

a simple cure for the nation's obesity woes. Studies on using leptin

to control weight found that obese people had lost sensitivity to the

hormone, Cummings said.

Some researchers believe AMP-kinase might be more effective in weight

control than leptin because its works more directly on appetite

signaling at the end of the biochemical pathway in the brain.

Clinical trials on human patients will take years to complete,

researchers said.