9/01/2008 PERMALINK
Master switch in your brain regulates appetite & reproduction A master switch has been found in the brain of mice that controls both body weight and fertility, and researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies say it may work the same way in humans. Mice born without TORC1 looked fine at birth, but at about eight weeks, they began to gain weight and became persistently obese in adulthood. "Their hormones and blood sugar resembled that seen in humans with these disorders," says Judith Altarejos Ph.D., first author on this study. The gene that produces this master switch, TORC1, is regulated by phosphate handling enzymes called kinases, and kinases that often make for very good drug targets ... more