The scientific paper entitled “Tesofensine, a novel antiobesity drug, silences GABAergic hypothalamic neurons” was published in PLOS One by Claudia I. Perez and coworkers from an acknowledged obesity research group led by Ranier Gutierrez, National Polytechnic Institute, Mexico (https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0300544). Using a combination of sophisticated in vivo biochemical, histological, molecular, behavioral pharmacological and electrophysiological techniques the authors aimed at addressing the mechanism of action of tesofensine’s weight loss effects in the hypothalamus of the rat brain and linking this to tesofensine’s robust efficacy as a weight loss drug.

The authors found that tesofensine strongly modulated lateral hypothalamus activity in obese rats and inhibited a subset of GABAergic neurons attenuating their ability to promote feeding behavior. They also concluded that tesofensine induced more weight loss the appetite suppressant effects in obese rats than in lean rats. Moreover, it was shown that tesofensine blocked weight loss tolerance (weight rebound) and prolonged the weight loss induced by the weight loss principle 5-HTP. Tesofensine was evaluated to have a benign adverse effect profile and differentiation to certain other obesity treatments principles tested.

Karin Sandager Nielsen, CSO of Saniona, commented, “These data strongly support the promotion of tesofensine as a novel effective treatment for weight loss in obese people. The experiments demonstrate strong experimental skills and scientific experience of the responsible scientists and their excellence in the field. The techniques used are highly sophisticated and well suited for demonstrating tesofensine’s effects at specific neuronal pathway levels and brings us closer to understanding the cellular and network mechanism of action of tesofensine’s unique efficacy”.