A group of researchers from UT Southwestern in Texas has discovered that migraine drugs (triptans) may also be effective in treating obesity
Science reinvents itself. A group of researchers fromUT Southwestern of Texas found that of the drugs generally prescribed formigraine (triptan) may also be effective in the treatment ofobesity. The results were published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine.
The precedent of serotonin
The study was performed on a class of obese mice: the daily administration of a dose of triptan resulted After a month the rats to eat less food and to lose weight. The first author of the study Chen Liu said: «We have shown that there is real potential to reuse these drugs (which are already proven safe) for appetite suppression and weight loss.
It was already known that the serotoninalso known as the “feel good hormone” is a neurotransmitter synthesized in the brain and other tissues from the essential amino acid tryptophan which plays a key role in appetite. Like all chemical mediators, it works by interacting with various specific receptors that sense it and signal cells to change their behavior in response. On this basis, scientists had already tried to act on some in the past specific serotonin receptors that control appetite through the use of anorectic drugs, which however were then withdrawn from the market for having caused serious side effects on the heart valves.
A long-term effect so far missed
From the study on mice the researchers have now found that the aforementioned drugs are able to reduce body weight and improve glucose metabolism in less than a month. Liu himself defined the discovery as “impressive”, finally explaining that until now the effects of these drugs on weight have escaped science and medicine because, usually prescribed for short periods (i.e. those during which you suffer from migraine), have never had time to act for a sufficient period.