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More neurons, less weight

Nature Medicine volume 11, pages 1276–1278 (2005)Cite this article

Treatment with a neuronal growth factor stimulates weight loss—and spurs the development of new neurons that help maintain reduced weight.

Very few drugs stimulate robust weight loss, and even fewer can prevent weight gain after termination of therapy. But ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF), and its analog Axokine, are able to do just that. Both rodents and people who lost weight on Axokine sustain substantial weight loss even after removal of the drug1,2.

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Figure 1: CNTF triggers weight loss and neurogenesis.

Katie Ris

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  1. Department of Psychiatry, Genome Research Institute, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, 45237, Ohio, USA

    Randy J Seeley

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  1. Randy J Seeley
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Seeley, R. More neurons, less weight. Nat Med 11, 1276–1278 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/nm1205-1276

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