Natural appetite suppressant found
US researchers have discovered a natural appetite suppressant that's released into the bloodstream after eating fatty food. Rats and mice injected with a synthetic version of the chemical, Nape, either into their abdomen, where it's normally released, or in smaller quantities into their brain, ate less and, after five days, began losing weight. The Yale University team found that levels of Nape, which humans also produce naturally, rose significantly after rodents ate fatty food, but not after proteins or carbohydrates. 'This may be a new pathway ... to treat obesity,' says team leader Gerald Shulman. The researchers have now begun human trials, Reuters reports.
Advances in cure for heart failure
Researchers from two US biotechnology companies have found a way to turn off a genetic trigger in mice that plays a key role in heart failure, suggesting a way to prevent cardiac disease and even cure it. The joint venture found that diseased hearts contain three to five times more strands of a micro-ribonucleic acid called miR-21 than healthy ones. Congestive heart failure affects 23 million people worldwide and kills about 600,000 each year. Blocking miR-21 in mice bred to develop the disease prevented heart failure. As well, those with heart failure that were later given a blocking compound improved significantly, Reuters reports.
Boss haters risk heart disease
People who think their bosses are unfair, arbitrary, inconsiderate and poor managers are at significantly greater risk of developing heart disease, say Swedish researchers based on studies of more than 3,000 male workers between 1992 and 1995. By contrast, the more competent they rated their bosses, the lower their risk of serious heart problems, WebMD reports. Even workers who thought their bosses were simply bad at communicating, rather than actively negative, were at greater risk, the Karolinska Institute team concluded.