Mind over matter

In the latest link between the GI tract and the CNS, a team from the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine has identified the synaptic organizers CADM1 and CADM2 as targets in the gut-brain axis that could be inhibited to treat obesity.

The gut-brain axis involves bidirectional signaling between the CNS and the peripheral enteric system. A range of targets have been identified, including peptide tyrosine-tyrosine (PYY), neuropeptide Y (NPY), cholecystokinin (CCK) and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), and in the last few years the microbiome has been recognized as a major player involved in regulating the whole system...