A new discovery reveals that astrocytes, star-shaped cells in the brain, play a key role in regulating fat metabolism and obesity. These cells act on a cluster of neurons, known as the GABRA5 cluster, effectively acting as a “switch” for weight regulation.
The MAO-B enzyme in these astrocytes was identified as a target for obesity treatment, influencing GABA secretion and thus weight regulation.
KDS2010, a selective and reversible MAO-B inhibitor, successfully led to weight loss in obese mice without impacting their food intake, even while consuming a high-fat diet, and is now in Phase 1 clinical trials.
Every time I see one of these weight loss miracles, I wait for the other shoe to drop… and it usually does.
As I have learned the hard way in my own life, the weight loss miracle is setting a calorie limit and strictly adhering to it (barring medical complications… which, let’s face it, most of the people who say those cause issues with them losing weight probably don’t have them).
The weight loss miracle I’m waiting on is the pill that rewires your brain to change your relationship with food because, man… that’s the hard part. Having to constantly fight my own brain - no, you aren’t hungry, you’re bored; yes, you actually are satisfied eating a happy meal for 550 cals, you actually do not need a 2 cheeseburger meal large size at 1200 cals, and so on - that’s the struggle for me. I’m down from 270 to 240 so far, but I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t still a constant fight, which is probably what makes relapsing after taking all these drugs such a common thing.