World Scene: Health

Drugs may help fight fat

The hormone leptin, combined with one of two US-approved drugs, may suppress appetite in overweight people, making it a potential weapon in the fight against obesity, according to a study published on Tuesday.

Leptin tells the brain to stop eating once the stomach is full, but fails to work effectively in most obese people, according to the study by researchers at the Harvard Medical School. The research found that the two drugs - Phenyl Butyric Acid and Tauroursodeoxycholic acid - appeared to act in mice as "leptin sensitizers," combatting "leptin resistance" in the brain's hypothalamus.