Stem cell scientists make possible weight loss breakthrough

Stem cell scientists in the US have made a discovery that could help people across the world to lose weight fast.

Researchers from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) found a way of targeting fat-generating stem cells.

They hope that this discovery could help the delivery of drugs that slow the cells' ability to expand with fat.

"Helping people lose weight might also reduce their risk of cardiovascular diseases, certain types of cancer, type 2 diabetes and other obesity-related diseases," said Dr Mikhail Kolonin, the study's senior author and assistant professor of molecular medicine at the UTHealth Medical School.

He went on to say that the next step is for preclinical tests to be carried out to see if they can develop compounds that target the particular stem cells.

Earlier this month, scientists from the Diabetes and Obesity Center of Excellence at the University of Washington in Seattle claimed that high-fat diets can injure cells in the brain that control a person's body weight.

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