How advances in understanding the mechanisms of regulation of hunger and energy expenditure in the hypothalamus have enabled the development of new drugs for the treatment of obesity

• Grant number: 24/00362-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Journalism
• Start date: May 01, 2024
• End date: April 30, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine - Medical Clinics
• Principal Investigator: Licio Augusto Velloso
• Grantee: Isabella Wakim Ferla
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Médicas (FCM). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 13/07607-8 - OCRC - Obesity and Comorbidities Research Center, AP.CEPID

Abstract

Obesity is one of the most prevalent diseases in the world, affecting more than 600 million people. In recent decades, there has been a rapid increase in the number of children and adolescents with the disease, such that epidemiological projections for the coming decades are quite poor, suggesting that within a short time, more than 1 billion people will be diagnosed with obesity. Changes in dietary patterns, with a large consumption of energy-dense foods, combined with a sedentary lifestyle are the main causes of obesity. Unfortunately, preventionand treatment strategies based on lifestyle changes have proven insufficient to modify epidemiological trends; Thus, today there is an intense search for the development of new strategies that are more effective. In the linked research project (2013/07607-8), researchers evaluate a protein, NHLH2, which participates in the transcriptional regulation of a neurotransmitter precursor, POMC, which plays a central role in the regulation of hunger and energy expenditure. For this reason, it is believed that NHLH2 could be a very interesting therapeutic target. One of the reasons for this belief is that a new class of drugs that has been used to treat obesity with some success, GLP1 receptor agonists, act on neurons that express both NHLH2 and POMC, activating them and promoting eduction of hunger. In this project, we will produce a podcast and a short video (reel) describing how the brain center that regulates hunger and the body's energy expenditure works, and how scientists hope to advance the development of new strategies for treating obesity using knowledge generated by the study. We will also produce a video report with a prominent Brazilian scientist in the field of obesity. The material will be produced in language that allows people from all segments of society to understand it. We believe that scientific dissemination on a topic as important as obesity can contribute to people's engagement and greater adherence to obesity prevention and treatment strategies.