Therapeutic targets to combat obesity

Miguel Antonio López Pérez

Centro de Investigación en Medicina Molecular y Enfermedades Crónicas (CiMUS), Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Spain

Obesity and its complications are a public health problem bordering on the scope of a pandemic. Currently, some drug therapies show promising results in reducing weight, but they remain unregulated by drug agencies because of the many associated side effects.

Obesity is a complex problem in which different regulatory mechanisms converge, ranging from appetite control to body mass. Many of these mechanisms are found in the brain, specifically in the hypothalamus, which affects the regulation of food intake and energy balance, among others.

The project proposes to reach these therapeutic targets in the central nervous system, without intervening directly in the skull, through the use of exosomes. These extracellular vesicles would allow noninvasive access to the brain by way of the bloodstream to treat obesity.

Exosome targeting of the hypothalamus: a novel strategy for the treatment of obesity

€448,300