A clinical trial at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute in Orlando, Florida will test the weight-control capabilities of orexin, a hormone that activates the body’s brown fat, which converts calories into energy. The trial will take place at the Translational Research Institute for Metabolism and Diabetes, a joint venture of Sanford-Burnham and Florida Hospital in Orlando.
Preclinical studies by Sanford-Burnham metabolic disease researcher Devanjan Sikder has shown that orexin — an appetite-inducing hormone produced in the brain — promotes weight loss by releasing excess energy as heat instead of storing it. Sikder says his research team “has discovered that orexin activates calorie-burning brown fat, which we consider to be ‘good’ fat, and evidence strongly suggests that human obesity can arise from brown fat dysfunction.”
Orexin deficiency is associated with obesity in both animals and humans, while high orexin levels correlate with leanness. Babies have large numbers of brown fat cells, and use brown fat to moderate body temperature. The trial will test orexin’s ability to activate brown fat in adults, so that calories, which otherwise would be stored as unwanted white fat, can be burned.
Lab tests with mice have shown orexin can reduce fat by 50 percent, even when excess calories are consumed, due to an elevated metabolic rate. The clinical trial will assess orexin’s mode of action, efficacy, and its workings in the human body, as well as evaluate the hormone’s acute effect in stimulating energy expenditure. The study is expected to lead to the development of personalized therapies for treating obesity and metabolic diseases overall.
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