Posted on behalf of Roberta Kwok

“Obesity wonder drug Leptin revived,” crows the Telegraph, and that’s the gist of most headlines about a new study out of Children’s Hospital Boston that could bring an appetite-suppressing hormone back from the dead.

What’s leptin? Circa 1995, it was thought to be a possible treatment for obesity. The hormone dials down people’s longing for food, and in short-term trials, it appeared to help patients shed weight. The catch: Their brains soon became resistant to leptin, and the pounds came right back.

Now, researchers have found that by supplementing leptin with one of two drugs, its flab-fighting properties can be restored in mice. The drugs – 4-phenyl butyric acid and tauroursodeoxycholic acid – are already FDA-approved for treating cystic fibrosis and liver disease, respectively.

According to the report in Cell Metabolism, the key is loosening up the endoplasmic reticulum, a cellular structure that stops functioning properly in obese mice and blocks the leptin signal. “This organelle gets stressed or angry,” study co-author Umut Ozcan told Reuters. By “de-stressing” it with extra drugs, leptin can waltz back in and work its magic.

The remaining question, as always, is whether the treatment will work in humans. Ozcan says there’s no guarantee but hopes to settle the question with clinical trials (Scientific American’s 60-Second Science).