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Researchers revise understanding of GLP-1 receptor agonists
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Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists may affect food intake and weight loss through other areas of the brain besides the hypothalamus, according to a new study.
“GLP-1 receptor agonists cause people to eat less, and their weight loss effects were thought to rely on the hypothalamus, a part of the brain that controls appetite,” Julio Ayala, PhD, associate professor at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, said in a press release. “There was some evidence to support this notion, but it hadn’t been directly tested. In this study, we show that it’s not the case — other regions of the brain must be involved in weight loss caused by GLP-1 receptor agonists.”
Ayala and colleagues studied mice that lacked GLP-1 receptors in the hypothalamus. The researchers found that the GLP-1 receptor agonists still caused the mice to reduce food intake and lower body mass.
“Our findings show that we still have work to do to understand what GLP-1 receptor agonists are doing in the brain,” Ayala said. “But we know where to start. We’re already looking at their effects on brain regions that are involved in the reward associated with eating, such as the ventral tegmental area and the nucleus accumbens.”