The abuse of fatty foods may be caused by the work of special brain cells, microglia, the activity of which can be reduced with the help of drugs, American scientists say..

Researchers from the University of California (San Francisco) discovered this mechanism during experiments on mice.. As the experts explained, microglia are not neurons, but they account for 10% to 15% of brain cells.. Until recently, the main target of doctors was the neurons located in the hypothalamus, which play a decisive role in the process of eating..

New study shows that targeting microglia holds broader promise for anti-obesity drug discovery. After binge-eating rodents were given a drug that inhibited the activity of these growths, the mice reduced their diet by 15%, while losing one-fifth of their weight..

In order to confirm their findings, scientists have developed a drug that causes the activation of inflammatory processes in microglia.. This drug was administered to mice fed a low-fat diet.. As a result, mice began to eat 33% more and at the same time spend 12% less energy.. As a result, this led to a fourfold increase in weight compared to the control group, who ate the same food..

So far, all experiments related to the new drug are being carried out on mice, but scientists intend to conduct experiments that will make it possible to understand whether human microglia can be affected in this way..

aspect. net.