PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

How a protein meal tells your brain you’re full

2012-07-06
(Press-News.org) Feeling full involves more than just the uncomfortable sensation that your waistband is getting tight. Investigators reporting online on July 5th in the Cell Press journal Cell have now mapped out the signals that travel between your gut and your brain to generate the feeling of satiety after eating a protein-rich meal. Understanding this back and forth loop between the brain and gut may pave the way for future approaches in the treatment and/or prevention of obesity.

Food intake can be modulated through mu-opioid receptors (MORs, which also bind morphine) on nerves found in the walls of the portal vein, the major blood vessel that drains blood from the gut. Specifically, stimulating the receptors enhances food intake, while blocking them suppresses intake. Investigators have now found that peptides, the products of digested dietary proteins, block MORs, curbing appetite. The peptides send signals to the brain that are then transmitted back to the gut to stimulate the intestine to release glucose, suppressing the desire to eat.

Mice that were genetically engineered to lack MORs did not carry out this release of glucose, nor did they show signs of 'feeling full', after eating high-protein foods. Giving them MOR stimulators or inhibitors did not affect their food intake, unlike normal mice.

Because MORs are also present in the neurons lining the walls of the portal vein in humans, the mechanisms uncovered here may also take place in people.

"These findings explain the satiety effect of dietary protein, which is a long-known but unexplained phenomenon," says senior author Dr. Gilles Mithieux of the Université de Lyon, in France. "They provide a novel understanding of the control of food intake and of hunger sensations, which may offer novel approaches to treat obesity in the future," he adds.

### Duraffourd et al.: "Mu-Opioid Receptors and Dietary Protein Stimulate a Gut-Brain Neural Circuitry Limiting Food Intake."


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Like it or not, Facebook and friends can be used to influence health behavior

2012-07-06
Most people call it the "art" of persuasion, but public health researchers at the University of Southern California (USC) are trying to pinpoint the "science" behind social influence. They hope a better understanding of human interactions — both face-to-face and online — can help prevent disease and promote general health. Whether the goal is to curb smoking at a local school or to reduce the spread of sexually transmitted diseases within a community, it is important to understand the social structure of the group and the dynamics of influence at play, says Thomas W. ...

Climate change suspended reef growth for 2 millennia

2012-07-06
MELBOURNE, FLA.—Climate change drove coral reefs to a total ecosystem collapse lasting thousands of years, according to a paper published this week in Science. The paper shows how natural climatic shifts stopped reef growth in the eastern Pacific for 2,500 years. The reef shutdown, which began 4,000 years ago, corresponds to a period of dramatic swings in the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO). "As humans continue to pump greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, the climate is once again on the threshold of a new regime, with dire consequences for reef ecosystems unless we ...

Novel nanotherapeutic delivers clot-busting drugs directly to obstructed blood vessels

2012-07-06
VIDEO: A blood clot within a mouse artery disappears following the injection of a clot-busting, shear-activated nanotherapeutic. The bright areas are fluorescent-labeled platelets. Click here for more information. Researchers at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University have developed a novel biomimetic strategy that delivers life-saving nanotherapeutics directly to obstructed blood vessels, dissolving blood clots before they cause ...

Researchers find a brain center for social choices

2012-07-06
DURHAM, N.C. -- Although many areas of the human brain are devoted to social tasks like detecting another person nearby, a new study has found that one small region carries information only for decisions during social interactions. Specifically, the area is active when we encounter a worthy opponent and decide whether to deceive them. A brain imaging study conducted by researchers at the Duke Center for Interdisciplinary Decision Science (D-CIDES) put human subjects through a functional MRI brain scan while playing a simplified game of poker against a computer and human ...

Diabetes drug makes brain cells grow

2012-07-06
The discovery is an important step toward therapies that aim to repair the brain not by introducing new stem cells but rather by spurring those that are already present into action, says the study's lead author Freda Miller of the University of Toronto-affiliated Hospital for Sick Children. The fact that it's a drug that is so widely used and so safe makes the news all that much better. Earlier work by Miller's team highlighted a pathway known as aPKC-CBP for its essential role in telling neural stem cells where and when to differentiate into mature neurons. As it happened, ...

Gladstone scientists identify critical process in stem cell development

2012-07-06
SAN FRANCISCO, CA--July 5, 2012--Scientists at the Gladstone Institutes have discovered that environmental factors critically influence the growth of a type of stem cell--called an iPS cell--that is derived from adult skin cells. This discovery offers newfound understanding of how these cells form, while also advancing science closer to stem cell-based therapies to combat disease. Researchers in the laboratory of Gladstone Senior Investigator Shinya Yamanaka, MD, PhD, have for the first time shown that protein factors released by other cells affect the "reprogramming" ...

Eddies, not sunlight, spur annual bloom of tiny plants in North Atlantic

2012-07-06
On a recent expedition to the inhospitable North Atlantic Ocean, scientists at the University of Washington and collaborators studying the annual growth of tiny plants were stumped to discover that the plankton had started growing before the sun had a chance to offer the light they need for their growth spurt. For decades, scientists have known that springtime brings the longer days and calmer seas that force phytoplankton near the surface, where they get the sunlight they need to flourish. But in research results published this week in the journal Science, scientists ...

Repeat aneurysm screening for high-risk men should be considered

2012-07-06
Aneurysm screening for men aged over 65 is cost effective and rescreening those at highest risk, at least once, should be considered, suggests a study published on bmj.com today. Abdominal aortic aneurysms (caused by ballooning of the artery wall) usually occur in men aged between 65 and 75 years old and are more common among smokers. If the artery wall ruptures, the risk of death is high, but aneurysms at risk of rupture can be detected by screening and surgically repaired. One-off screening for men aged over 65 is known to be cost effective and national screening ...

Most accurate robotic legs mimic human walking gait

2012-07-06
A group of US researchers has produced a robotic set of legs which they believe is the first to fully model walking in a biologically accurate manner. The neural architecture, musculoskeletal architecture and sensory feedback pathways in humans have been simplified and built into the robot, giving it a remarkably human-like walking gait that can be viewed in this video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnD7LqisBhM&feature=youtu.be. The biological accuracy of this robot, which has been presented today, Friday 6 July, in IOP Publishing's Journal of Neural Engineering, ...

The Council of Canadian Academies releases a new expert panel report

2012-07-06
Ottawa (July 5th, 2012) – An international expert panel has assessed that decisions regarding science funding and performance can't be determined by metrics alone. A combination of performance indicators and expert judgment are the best formula for determining how to allocate science funding. The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) spends approximately one billion dollars a year on scientific research. Over one-third of that goes directly to support discovery research through its flagship Discovery Grants Program (DGP). However, concerns ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Women’s brain regions may lose ability to synchronize after sexual assault

Quitting smoking, even late in life, linked to slower cognitive decline

Critical raw materials are a vital new currency; Europe’s e-waste is the vault

Anesthesiologist-led care helps hip-fracture patients get to surgery faster, with fewer complications

Two-dose recombinant shingles vaccine is effective even accounting for prior receipt of live shingles vaccine

Excessive daytime sleepiness may raise risk of cognitive problems after surgery

Flipping the switch on sperm motility offers new hope for male infertility

Twisting sound: Scientists discover a new way to control mechanical vibrations in metamaterial

Drip by drip: The hidden blueprint for stalagmite growth

mRNA therapy restores sperm production and fertility in mice

New way to weaken cancer cells could supercharge prostate cancer treatment

How sound—but not touch—shapes rhythm in the brain

Exploring the therapeutic potential of hypothermia

Research alert: Bioengineering breathes new life into failed cancer treatment

AI, health, and health care today and tomorrow – the JAMA Summit Report on artificial intelligence

Large genetic study links cannabis use to psychiatric, cognitive and physical health

Social media use trajectories and cognitive performance in adolescents

Music for the brain: Study tests the effect of slow-tempo relaxing music to address delirium in critically ill older adults 

AI models predict sepsis in children, allow preemptive care

Liraglutide vs semaglutide vs dulaglutide in veterans with type 2 diabetes

Antenatal corticosteroids and infectious diseases throughout childhood

New lab-grown human embryo model produces blood cells

Life after near death: Research reveals how to improve support for near-death experiencers

Illinois Chat is launched for campus community

FAU receives $3M federal grant to prevent substance use in at-risk youth

New report shows action to improve gender equity linked to career gains and better business performance

Kiwis could help manage chronic constipation

Breast, lung, and bladder cancer phase 3 trials led by Dana-Farber presented at ESMO Congress 2025

New open-source software allows for efficient 3D printing with multiple materials

Decoding the secrets of ‘chemo brain’

[Press-News.org] How a protein meal tells your brain you’re full