FAT people lose weight after injections of a naturally occurring gut hormone called PYY3-36.
In research published last week, 24 volunteers given a 90-minute infusion of PYY3-36 ate one-third fewer calories than people given a placebo irrespective of whether they were obese or not (The New England Journal of Medicine, vol 349, p 941).
PYY3-36 is produced after eating, and acts on a part of the brain called the hypothalamus to reduce appetite. It has already been shown to help obese rats slim (Â鶹´«Ã½, 9 August, p 38).
