London: Tackling obesity may become a little easier as a nasal spray developed by a group of researchers can restrain people from having the temptation of overeating and unhealthy foods.
The anti-binge nasal spray that could help tackle obesity by removing the rewards the brain gets from gorging on unhealthy foods and drinks would benefit millions of people because it attacks the root cause of over-indulging, a report in the telegraph.co.uk, said.
According to researchers, when people over-eat and drink, the brain releases compounds known as endorphins that produce a "rush" or feeling of well-being.
With time, this becomes a "craving" or addiction and leads to unhealthy patterns of behaviour such as binge eating and binge drinking.
Dr David Sinclair, an American researcher, has developed a spray that blocks the effectiveness of endorphins and thus breaks the connection between bingeing and rewards.
This in turn allows the user to unlearn bad behaviour and adopt more healthy patterns of consumption.
The treatment, which has been started for human trials in Finland, has shown almost 100 per cent effectiveness in animals. In alcohol trials it has been 78 per cent effective.
"You take this spray and over time the craving goes away. It rewires the lower brain and changes behaviour. Bad eating habits are progressively reduced and good eating is promoted", said Dr Sinclair, who is developing the nasal spray along with the drug company Lightlake Therapeutics.
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