Molecule may be solution to appetite control

SCIENTISTS have found how to switch hunger on and off using a molecule that targets the brain — a discovery which could stop weight loss in terminally ill patients or produce weight loss in the morbidly obese.

The molecule, known as MIC-1, is produced by common cancers, and targets receptors in the brain that switch off appetite.

But Australian researchers found that by using antibodies against MIC-1 they were able to switch appetite back on.