According to a study conducted on obese rats, a prescribed class of migraine medications called triptans have been shown to be helpful in treating obesity.
In the study, a daily dose of triptans caused the animals to eat less food and lose weight over the course of a month.
Study leader Chen Liu, PhD, assistant professor of internal medicine and neuroscience and an investigator, said, “We have shown that there is a real potential for repurposing these drugs for appetite suppression and weight loss, which are already in place. Considered safe.” Peter O’Donnell Jr. Brain Institute.
Obesity affects more than 41% of all adults in the US and increases the risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes and certain types of cancer. Most treatments for obesity focus on eating habits and physical activity.
Scientists have long known that serotonin, a chemical messenger found throughout the brain and body, plays an important role in appetite. However, there are 15 different serotonin receptors – molecules that sense serotonin and signal cells to change their behavior in response. Researchers have struggled to understand the role of each serotonin receptor in appetite, and previous drugs — including fen-phen and lorcaserin (Belvik) — that targeted certain individual receptors have been withdrawn from the market due to side effects. .
Triptans, which are used to treat acute migraine and cluster headaches, work by targeting a different receptor – the serotonin 1B receptor (Htr1b) – that has not previously been well studied in the context of appetite and weight loss. Yes, Dr. Liu said.
For the new study, researchers tested six prescription triptans in obese mice that were fed a high-fat diet for seven weeks. The rats ate the same amount of two of these drugs, but the rats ate less of the other four. After 24 days, rats given a daily dose of the drug frovatriptan lost, on average, 3.6% of their body weight, whereas rats not given triptans gained an average of 5.1% of their body weight. Dr. Liu and his colleagues saw similar results when they applied devices to animals that were given a steady dose of frovatriptan for 24 days.
“We found that these drugs, and in particular, can reduce body weight and improve glucose metabolism in less than a month,” Dr. Liu said.
Since triptans are usually prescribed for short-term use during migraines, Dr. Liu suspects that patients may not have noticed long-term effects on appetite and weight in the past.
To determine how frovatriptan affects food intake and weight, the researchers engineered mice to lack Htr1b or Htr2c, the serotonin receptor targeted by fen-phen and lorcaserin. In mice without Htr1b, frovatriptan could no longer reduce appetite or cause weight loss, whereas cutting Htr2c had no effect. This confirmed that the drug works by targeting the serotonin 1B receptor.
“This discovery could be important for drug development,” Dr. Liu said. “We not only highlighted the potential for remodeling existing tryptons, but also looked at Htr1b as a candidate for treating obesity and regulating food intake.”
The team went on to show which neurons in the brain were most important for Htr1b’s role in mediating appetite, home to a small group of cells within the hypothalamus.
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