Edited by: Steve Bunk
 Richard D. Palmiter |
Comments by Richard D. Palmiter , Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator and University of Washington biochemistry professor
Ah, for an ideal scientific world. In it, researchers demonstrate that injection of a specific neuropeptide into the brain stimulates feeding. So they develop a drug that blocks this peptide's activity. People take the drug, eat less, obesity is swept off its substantial feet, and the marketplace comes running.
But in the real world, that particular transmitter, called neuropeptide Y (NPY), is not so cooperative. Yes, it does stimulate feeding when injected into the brain, but what happens if NPY is deleted from mice? They'll stop feeding without the need of a blocking drug, ...
