Dutch researchers report breakthrough in treatment of obesity caused by brain tumor
Researchers have reported a breakthrough in the treatment of people struggling with obesity due to hormonal imbalances caused by a brain tumour that often affects children. Treatment with the medicine setmelanotide can significantly reduce these patients’ BMI, announced the Princess Máxima Center, which led the Dutch branch of this clinical study led by the Seattle Children’s Research Institute. The researchers spoke of “astounding” and “convincing” results.
It involves people who had a tumor in the hypothalamus, the control center for hormonal balance in the brain. Approximately 25 children and 50 adults in the Netherlands are diagnosed with such a tumor per year. This type of tumor is often benign and can be safely removed, but the tumor and surgery cause damage to the hypothalamus that can have extreme consequences.
Damage to the hypothalamus can disrupt an important signalling pathway in the brain, causing a lack of control over factors like satiety, energy expenditure, and impulse control. That in turn causes uncontrolled eating, and consequently, obesity. Setmalanotide is a drug that restores the signal for satiety and energy expenditure in the brain,
The clinical trial with setmelanotide found that the medicine resulted in a 20 percent decrease in BMI, or body mass index, a method used to measure whether someone is a healthy weight. The researchers expect that the BMI will decrease further for people who continue taking the medicine for longer than a year.
Prof. Dr. Hanneke van Santen, a pediatric endocrinologist at the Princess Máxima Center and the Wilhelmina Children's Hospital who led the Dutch arm of this study, considers this a breakthrough. “Until now, we could do little for children with acquired hypothalamic obesity. We could help them cope better with the consequences, but the lives of children and families were completely disrupted,” she said. “Our clinical study of setmelanotide gives children with hypothalamic obesity and their families renewed hope.”
“The effect of the medication was astounding. We saw children who previously struggled not only with being overweight but also with lethargy, temper tantrums, and all kinds of other problems caused by obesity truly come to life. And on top of that, of course, came the tangible, impressive weight loss,” Van Santen said.
She hopes that Dutch health insurers quickly add this medicine to their basic insurance packages so that every affected child can have access to this medicine.
The study was funded by Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, the company that manufactures setmelanotide. The results were published today in the New England Journal of Medicine.
