A team of researchers from Boston University School of Medicine have found a therapeutic target for treating compulsive binge eating, a type of eating disorder.
People with compulsive binge eating disorder consume large quantities of food in short period of time even when they are not hungry. They are unable to control the urge for overeating and often feel guilty and shameful about their habit afterwards. It is estimated that about 15 million people in the United States are suffering from compulsive binge eating which could be affecting them in the forms of eating disorder and obesity.
According a new study published in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology, activating a class of receptors could help in controlling the eating disorder. Trace Amine-Associated Receptor 1 (TAAR1) is a receptor discovered in 2001 that binds the endogenous amines present in the tissues of human body at trace concentration.
For the purpose of the study, the researchers developed an experimental model with binge-eating habit that is addicted to chocolate flavored foods and sugary food items. The experimental model involved in the study was much inclined towards food and exhibited sort of risky behavior to get the food stuff unlike the controls.
On administering TAAR1 agonist, RO5256390 the researchers found that that the compound could control the binge eating behavior of the model. RO5256390 is observed to block the temptation for sugary foods, junk foods and compulsive binge eating in unsafe environment, said Antonio Ferragud, the co-author of the study.
It was observed that the receptor TAAR1 was decreased in particular regions of the subjects' brain that had the eating disorder. TAAR1, which acts as a "brake" in controlling executive functions and decision making, was out of control in subjects that exhibited addiction-like behaviors. When TAAR1 is activated the brake is restored and the compulsive binge eating behavior was brought under control, said Adam Howell, the co-first author of the study.
"Effective therapeutic treatments currently available are very elusive. The results of this study provide a new window toward the development of a new class of drugs with a novel target unexplored until now," said corresponding author Pietro Cottone, PhD, co-director of the Laboratory of Addictive Disorders (LAD) and associate professor of pharmacology and psychiatry at BUSM, in Boston University Press release.
The research was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse, the McManus Charitable Trust, the Peter Paul Career Development Professorship and Boston University's Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP).
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