
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, August 31, 1995                   TAG: 9508310070
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: NEW YORK                                LENGTH: Short

FAT-BUSTER SLIMS MICE, BUT PEOPLE AREN'T MICE

A natural fat-buster that made headlines last month for slimming down overweight mice may not do the same for obese people, new research suggests.

Scientists found evidence that very fat people already have high levels of that substance in their bodies, maybe 20 to 30 times the amount found in slender people.

So injecting more may not help at all, said researcher Bradford Hamilton.

But another scientist who studies the substance disagreed, saying the new findings may just mean that the obese need more of the stuff than other people to control their weight.

The substance, called leptin, is produced by fat tissue. Mouse studies suggest it is a messenger to the brain that lets animals keep a relatively constant weight.

The more fat on an animal, the theory goes, the more leptin it produces and the more reaches the brain. If an animal gets too obese, an excess of leptin signals the brain to curb appetite and burn off fat.

Scientists say many processes, biological and social, influence obesity, and leptin is not the total answer.

by CNB