LONDON: No more toiling hard in the gym to shed flab! Scientists have inched closer to developing a new diet pill that can prevent obesity by “re-wiring” appetite control in the brain. A new study, published in the Journal of Neuroscience, has identified a population of stem cells capable of generating new appetite-regulating neurons in the brains of young and adult rodents.

The discovery by researchers at the University of East Anglia (UEA) could offer a long-lasting solution to eating disorders such as obesity. Scientists investigated the hypothalamus section of the brain — which regulates sleep and wake cycles, energy expenditure, appetite, thirst, hormone release and many other critical biological functions.

The study looked specifically at the nerve cells that regulate appetite. The researchers used ‘genetic fate mapping’ techniques to make their discovery — a method that tracks the development of stem cells and cells derived from them, at desired time points during the life of an animal.

They established that a population of brain cells called ‘tanycytes’ behave like stem cells and add new neurons to the appetite-regulating circuitry of the mouse brain after birth and into adulthood. “Unlike dieting, translation of this discovery could eventually offer a permanent solution for tackling obesity,” lead researcher Dr. Mohammad K Hajihosseini, said.