Research
Hormonal
A bimodal GLP-1/MK-801 conjugate produces synergistic weight loss and metabolic improvements in diet-induced obese rodents by targeting NMDA receptors in GLP-1-expressing brain regions, while mitigating the adverse behavioral and physiological effects of MK-801 monotherapy.
This research describes a new experimental drug that combines two mechanisms to treat obesity in animals. It works by targeting specific brain cells to reduce food intake and increase energy expenditure without the side effects of older drugs. This is not yet available for humans.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Here we report the engineering and preclinical development of a bimodal molecule that integrates NMDA receptor antagonism with glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonism to effectively reverse obesity, hyperglycaemia and dyslipidaemia in rodent models of metabolic disease... targeting of MK-801 to GLP-1 receptor-expressing brain regions circumvents adverse physiological and behavioural effects associated with MK-801 monotherapy.
Why this rating
High-quality preclinical data in multiple rodent models (mice and rats) with rigorous controls and mechanistic validation.
Source
GLP-1-directed NMDA receptor antagonism for obesity treatment
Jonas Petersen et al. · Nature · 2024
DOI 10.1038/s41586-024-07419-8
mechanism_onlyCited 83×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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