Hormone Ignites the Body’s Fat-Burning Furnace
June 7, 2007 | Source: KurzweilAI
Researchers have identified a master hormone, fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21), that allows the body to fuel itself with stored fat during times of fasting.
The hormone mobilizes lipids from fat cells, and then directs the liver to transform those lipids into energy-rich molecules that circulate throughout the body. It lowers lipid levels, triglyceride levels, and cholesterol levels, and induces weight loss.
“It was a big surprise that many of the body’s responses to fasting and starvation can be mimicked simply by administering FGF21 by itself,” Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator David Mangelsdorf said. “This opens up the intriguing possibility of using FGF21 as a drug to drive energy expenditure.”
