Eating Disorders Related News
Large NHMRC grant supports study of genes that affect appetite in flies, mice and humans
02 Nov 2011
Neuroscientists at Garvan have been awarded a $1,840,000 five-year project grant from Australia’s main medical research funding body, the National Health and Medical Research Council. Ranked within the top 3 out of 3,500 project applications, the study will screen the whole genome of the fruit fly, looking for genes that affect appetite and energy expenditure, which are also ‘conserved’ across species.
A powerful gut hormone that affects insulin and blood sugar levels
MEDIA RELEASE:
16 Jun 2010
Garvan researchers, in collaboration with English colleagues, have shown that a gut hormone released after we eat determines the speed at which we digest food and absorb nutrients across the gut into our blood. This makes it very influential in disorders such as Type 2 diabetes, and a promising therapeutic target.
New weight loss approach targets the body and not the brain
MEDIA RELEASE:
25 Nov 2009
Current drug-based weight loss therapies try to stop the brain from sending hunger signals to the body. These therapies tend to be fairly ineffective, Garvan researchers reasoned, so why not reverse the approach and stop the body from receiving signals from the brain? So that’s what they did, and it worked. In mice at least.
Professor Herbert Herzog wins prestigious award
14 Jan 2009
Professor Herbert Herzog, Head of Garvan’s Neuroscience program, will receive the Viktor Mutt Award later this month from the International Regulatory Peptide Society for his substantial contributions in the field of peptide research, particularly in Neuropeptide Y (NPY) research.
Why women should eat less, move more and consider wearing transdermal patches during menopause
MEDIA RELEASE:
24 Nov 2008
Weight and appetite experts from around the world met at a conference in Bangkok earlier this year to discuss sex differences in obesity. One line of discussion looked at factors leading to women’s weight gain during menopause, and how it might be avoided.
Importance of sex-specific testing shown in anxiety study
MEDIA RELEASE:
15 Oct 2008
A Garvan scientist has flagged an important truth for the medical research community. Like their human counterparts, male and female mice are not only different, their respective genetic responses can often be the reverse of what you'd expect from pharmacological results. This has important ramifications for laboratory and clinical testing.
Low levels of PYY hormone a very early indicator of Type 2 diabetes
MEDIA RELEASE:
10 Mar 2008
Garvan scientists have published findings showing that low levels of the hormone PYY could be used as a predictor for the development of Type 2 diabetes. Clinical studies have shown that people with a family history of Type 2 diabetes, but not yet showing signs of insulin resistance themselves, produce lower levels of PYY after eating, a very early sign of pre-diabetes.
Natural gut hormones may provide a treatment for obesity
MEDIA RELEASE:
08 Jan 2008
Garvan researchers have shown that a hormone released naturally from the gut could be used to treat obesity and Type 2 diabetes. After a meal, the hormone peptide YY (PYY) is released from the gut and acts on the brain, contributing to a feeling of satiety. Researchers foresee the use of this hormone as a weight loss medication.
The molecule that can switch appetite off and on
05 Nov 2007
Researchers from the St Vincent’s Campus have identified the molecule responsible for the extreme weight loss common in late stage cancer. The findings published online in Nature Medicine suggest it may soon be possible to prevent this condition, giving people the strength to survive treatment. Conversely, the knowledge also suggests a way to switch off appetite in obese people.
Natural pain killers offer a new direction in weight loss research
01 Aug 2007
Researchers in the Eating Disorders Research Group at the Garvan Institute in Sydney have shown for the first time that dynorphins, the body’s natural version of morphine, play a significant role in regulating weight gain and weight loss.
How we can stop stress from making us obese
02 Jul 2007
Neuropeptide Y (NPY), a molecule the body releases when stressed, can ‘unlock’ Y2 receptors in the body’s fat cells, stimulating the cells to grow in size and number.
