Credit: UT Southwestern Medical Center
DALLAS - May 12, 2021 - Scientists with UT Southwestern s Peter O Donnell Jr. Brain Institute have identified the molecular mechanism that can cause weight gain for those using a common antipsychotic medication. The findings, published in the
Journal of Experimental Medicine, suggest new ways to counteract the weight gain, including a drug recently approved to treat genetic obesity, according to the study, which involved collaborations with scientists at UT Dallas and the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology. If this effect can be shown in clinical trials, it could give us a way to effectively treat patients for their neuropsychiatric conditions without this serious side effect, says lead author Chen Liu, Ph.D., assistant professor of internal medicine and neuroscience, and with UTSW s O Donnell Brain Institute and Hypothalamic Research Center.