Molecular Link Between Sleep And Weight Gain
- Date:
- May 23, 2009
- Source:
- Journal of Clinical Investigation
- Summary:
- There appears to be a link between sleep and weight control, with some studies indicating that sleep disruption can increase weight gain and other studies that diet affects sleep. New research now provides molecular evidence to support this association. It is shown that T-type calcium channels regulate body weight maintenance and sleep in mice, suggesting that sleep and circadian treatment approaches may be of benefit in the fight against obesity.
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There appears to be a link between sleep and weight control, with some studies indicating that sleep disruption can increase weight gain and others that diet affects sleep. Victor Uebele and colleagues, at Merck Research Laboratories, West Point, have now provided further evidence to support this association by showing that T-type calcium channels regulate body weight maintenance and sleep in mice.
These data suggest that sleep and circadian treatment approaches may be of benefit in the fight against obesity.
Previous studies have shown that mice lacking the CaV3.1 T-type calcium channel have disrupted sleep/wake activity. In this study, the researchers found that these mice were resistant to weight gain when fed a high-fat diet. Consistent with these data, when normal-weight rodents were administered a drug that specifically antagonized T-type calcium channels during their inactive phase they showed increased sleep and were protected from weight gain due to a high-fat diet.
Further, when the same drug was given to obese rodents it reduced body weight and fat mass. The authors conclude that the benefits of the drug are likely to be a result of better alignment of feeding patterns and the circadian rhythm, and that targeting T-type calcium channels might provide a new avenue of research for those developing drugs to treat obesity.
Story Source:
Materials provided by Journal of Clinical Investigation. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.
Journal Reference:
- Antagonism of T-type calcium channels inhibits high-fat diet%u2013induced weight gain in mice. Journal of Clinical Investigation, May 18, 2009
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