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The Cure to Overeating?

OVERSTUFFED

Scientists may have pinpointed the one enzyme that tells you you’re full.

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William West/AFP/Getty

There may be a new cure to overeating apart from self-control.

Researchers at Johns Hopkins University believe they’ve found the one enzyme in the brain that sends the “you’re full” signal, which means it may be possible to treat overeating with medicine.

The scientists found that when they disabled the enzyme, called OGT, in the brains of mice, the disoriented rodents kept eating indefinitely and tripled their body fat in three weeks.

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On the other hand, when researchers gave the mice an extra dose of the enzyme, they ate 25 percent less.

Human brains have the same type of brain cells that were stimulated by the enzyme in mice. If the enzyme can be reproduced in medicinal form, exercise and self-restraint may take a backseat to some de-appetizing OGT pills.

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