Could Sex Hormones Keep You Trim?

Any time folks ooh & aah over how much advancement humanity has made, I am constantly reminded that we are, in many respects, comparatively speaking, still barbarians, for we know so little. There are unanswered questions galore. And it seems that the more we learn, the more we realize how much we truly do NOT know.

For example, we DO NOT know with certainty why folks become obese.

And yet, this may very well be just one part of a very complex puzzle.

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Fertility gene that keeps body trim disappears with age

Jul 24, 2013

According to a study, neural cells in the brain that are responsible for controlling sexuality may also impact body weight. This mechanism, revealed by researchers at the Max-Planck Institute in Bad Nauheim, may explain why many post-menopausal women gain weight and why men also tend to gradually gain more weight, the physicians report in the “Journal of Neuroscience“.

Until now, it was known that extreme obesity had a negative impact on fertility. The new discovery, which was made in mice, suggested that this principle might also have the reverse effect: if fertility abates, weight increases. This result also applied to humans because the gene Nscl-2 is found both in mice and in humans.

In their trials, the researchers blocked Nscl-2 in the animals’ brains. It stimulates numerous neural cells to perform specific tasks and is responsible for maturing genitals and sexual desire. The scientists discovered that, in conjunction with another neuron type, it also controls metabolic activity. Neural cells stimulated this way provide the brain with information about available fat deposits and simultaneously also regulate the feeling of hunger.

During the human aging process, this gene was assumed to cease naturally. “It is no longer activated, perhaps this neural cell type even no longer exists”, said Institute-head Matthias Heil. This may be the reason why post-menopausal women no longer have a natural sense for when they should stop eating. However, men with increasing age may also not be spared this lack of “appetite controller”.

Additional studies will examine whether the discovery of this gene mechanism may contribute to impact age-related weight gain in humans.

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http://www.merckmedicus.com/medical-news/Fertility-gene-that-keeps-body-trim-disappears-with-age