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NEUROENDOCRINOLOGY

A blood-to-brain delivery system to treat obesity

Small extracellular vesicles (SEVs) can be used for the selective delivery of therapeutic agents from the blood to the brain. Milbank et al. make use of SEVs to selectively target neurons in the ventromedial hypothalamus of mice, extending this exciting approach to potential applications for the treatment of obesity.

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Fig. 1: Peripherally administered SEVs reach the VMH and trigger sympathetic outflow that leads to body-weight loss.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by National Institutes of Health NIDDK grant R01 DK112198 (to C.J.M.). We thank S. Morrison for critical reading of this work.

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Correspondence to Christopher J. Madden.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Mota, C.M.D., Madden, C.J. A blood-to-brain delivery system to treat obesity. Nat Metab 3, 1288–1289 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42255-021-00463-y

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