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MEDICAL: CONDITIONS: OBESITY :
DRUG ALCOHOL AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE:
Common Mechanisms of Drug Abuse and Obesity
Date: Mon, 29 Mar 2010 09:15:39 -0400
From: "NIH OLIB (NIH/OD)" <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Common Mechanisms of Drug Abuse and Obesity
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH NIH News
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
<http://www.nida.nih.gov/>
For Immediate Release: Sunday, March 28, 2010, 1 p.m. EST
CONTACT:
NIDA Press Office
301-443-6245
e-mail:
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COMMON MECHANISMS OF DRUG ABUSE AND OBESITY
Research Suggests Food Availability Could Prompt Addiction
Some of the same brain mechanisms that fuel drug addiction in humans
accompany the emergence of compulsive eating behaviors and the development
of obesity in animals, according to research funded by the National
Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), a component of the National Institutes of
Health.
The study, conducted by researchers at the Scripps Research Institute, was
released today in the online version of Nature Neuroscience and will also
appear in the journal's May 2010 print issue. When investigators gave
rats access to varying levels of high-fat foods, they found unrestricted
availability alone can trigger addiction-like responses in the brain,
leading to compulsive eating behaviors and the onset of obesity.
"Drug addiction and obesity are two of the most challenging health
problems in the United States," said Dr. Nora D. Volkow, director of NIDA.
"This research opens the door for us to apply some of the knowledge we
have gathered about drug addiction to the study of overeating and
obesity."
Both obesity and drug addiction have been linked to a dysfunction in the
brain's reward system. In both cases overconsumption can trigger a gradual
increase in the reward threshold-requiring more and more palatable high
fat food or reinforcing drug to satisfy the craving over time.
Researchers conducted this study in three groups of male rats over a
40-day period. Each day, the three groups had unlimited access to
standard lab food. In addition, two of the groups also had access to
high-fat, cafeteria style foods for short (one-hour) or long (18-23 hours)
periods.
After 40 days, all groups were denied access to the high-fat foods.
Throughout the study, researchers observed the feeding behaviors of each
group, noting caloric intake, weight gain, and brain response.
The results support the notion that type 2 dopamine receptors (D2DR)-brain
receptors that have been shown to play a key role in addiction-also play a
key role in the rats' heightened response to food. In fact, as the rats
became obese, the levels of D2DR in the brain's reward circuit decreased.
This drop in D2DR is similar to that previously seen in humans addicted to
drugs like cocaine or heroin.
"The results of this study could provide insight into a mechanism for
obesity," said Paul J. Kenny, one of the study's co-authors and an
associate professor at the Scripps Jupiter, Fla., research facility.
"It's possible that drugs developed to treat addiction may also benefit
people who are habitual overeaters."
Study results also suggest that environmental factors, such as increased
or unlimited access to high-fat food options, can contribute to the
problem of obesity.
"Hopefully, this study will change the way people think about eating,"
said Paul Johnson, a co-author and graduate student in the department of
molecular therapeutics. "It demonstrates how just the availability of food
can trigger overconsumption and obesity."
The study titled: "Addiction-like reward dysfunction and compulsive eating
in obese rates: Role for dopamine D2 receptors," by Paul M. Johnson and
Paul J. Kenny in Nature Neuroscience can be found online at:
<http://www.nature.com/neuro/journal/vaop/ncurrent/index.html>
The National Institute on Drug Abuse is a component of the National
Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIDA
supports most of the world's research on the health aspects of drug abuse
and addiction. The Institute carries out a large variety of programs to
inform policy and improve practice. Fact sheets on the health effects of
drugs of abuse and information on NIDA research and other activities can
be found on the NIDA home page at <www.drugabuse.gov>. To order
publications in English or Spanish, call NIDA's new DrugPubs research
dissemination center at
1-877-NIDA-NIH
or
240-645-0228 (TDD)
or fax or email requests to
240-645-0227
or
e-mail:
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Online ordering is available at
<http://drugpubs.drugabuse.gov>
NIDA's new media guide can be found at
<http://drugabuse.gov/mediaguide>
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) -- The Nation's Medical Research
Agency -- includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary federal
agency for conducting and supporting basic, clinical and translational
medical research, and it investigates the causes, treatments, and cures
for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its
programs, visit
<http://www.nih.gov>
##
This NIH News Release is available online at:
<http://www.nih.gov/news/health/mar2010/nida-28.htm>
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