伦敦皇家学院的Steve Bloom教授获得了220万英镑的奖金，利用一种可以将食量减少四分之一的饥饿调控激素，研发可以对抗肥胖的口香糖。
Steve Bloom教授研究食欲控制已经超过20 年了，他说自然产生的肠道激素是对抗肥胖最有用的武器之一。目前只在临床实验中使用，但是研究人员的长期目标，是将这种激素研发成为生活中可以随时来一片的口香糖或鼻喷雾剂。
英国成人中，有三分之二超重或过胖，并且导致每星期有1,000人因肥胖的相关疾病死亡。如果成功这项研发工作成功，将可以利用饥饿调控的治疗方法，对抗成人过胖的腰围，同时也带来数十亿美元的商机。
这种激素名为胰多肽(Pancreatic Polypeptide, PP)，是由胰脏制造的激素，在每次用餐后会制造并寄送信号到脑部，告诉身体胃已经饱了。Bloom 教授表示，当他把激素给与受试者服用后，让他们依自己的食欲尽量吃，结果发现他们的食量减少了百分之15至25。
但是药物公司对于这种激素并不感兴趣，因为这是天然发生的激素，无法获得专利。
部分英文原文：
Pancreatic Polypeptide Reduces Appetite and Food Intake in Humans
Pancreatic polypeptide (PP) is a gut hormone released from the pancreas in response to ingestion of food. Plasma PP has been shown to be reduced in conditions associated with increased food intake and elevated in anorexia nervosa. In addition peripheral administration of PP has been shown to decrease food intake in rodents. These findings suggest that PP may act as a circulating factor that regulates food intake. Therefore we investigated the effect of intravenous infusion of PP (10 pmol/kg/min) on appetite and food intake in a randomised double-blind placebo-controlled crossover study in ten healthy volunteers. Infusion of PP reduced appetite and decreased the energy intake at a buffet lunch two hours post-infusion by 21.8 ± 5.7% (P < 0.01). More importantly the inhibition of food intake was sustained, such that energy intake, as assessed by food diaries, was significantly reduced both the evening of the study and the following morning. Overall PP infusion reduced cumulative 24-hour energy intake by 25.3 ± 5.8%. In conclusion our data demonstrates that PP causes a sustained decrease in both appetite and food intake.
