Study shows impact of weight loss drugs on nerve cells in brain
Swedish researchers have tracked how nerve cells get activated by weight loss drugs such as semaglutide and how it affects the brain
Published on May 24, 2025
By IANS
- NEW DELHI — Swedish researchers have tracked how nerve cells get activated by
weight loss drugs such as semaglutide and how it affects the brain.
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- Semaglutide belongs to a group of drugs called GLP-1R
agonists and has been shown to effectively reduce food intake and body weight.
The drug is already well established as part of the treatment for obesity and
type 2 diabetes but can cause side effects such as nausea and muscle loss.
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- In the study, researchers at the Sahlgrenska Academy at
the University of Gothenburg showed that it is possible to distinguish the
nerve cells in the brain that control the beneficial effects --such as reduced
food intake and fat loss -- from those that contribute to side effects.
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- To investigate how semaglutide affects the brain, the
researchers worked with mice. They tracked which nerve cells were activated by
the drug and were then able to stimulate these cells—without administering the
drug itself.
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- The results, published in the journal Cell Metabolism,
revealed that the mice ate less and lost weight, just as they did when treated
with semaglutide.
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- When these nerve cells were killed, the drug's effect on
appetite and fat loss instead decreased significantly. However, side effects
such as nausea and muscle loss remained.
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- "This suggests that these nerve cells control the
beneficial effects of semaglutide. We have therefore identified a specific
group of nerve cells that is necessary for the effects that semaglutide has on
weight and appetite, but which does not appear to contribute to any significant
extent to side effects such as nausea.
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- "If we can target the treatment there, we may be
able to maintain the positive effects while reducing side effects," says
Júlia Teixidor-Deulofeu, first author of the study and Ph.D. student at
Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg.
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- The identified nerve cells are located in an area of the
brain called the dorsal vagal complex.
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- The team noted that the finding is not only an early step
toward potentially improved treatment, but it also provides new knowledge about
how semaglutide works in the brain.
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- The study also provides deeper insight into how the brain
stem regulates our energy balance.
