Too many calories send the brain off kilter

Thatresponse in the brain's hypothalamus-the "headquarters" for maintainingenergy balance-can happen even in the absence of any weight gain,according to the new studies in mice.

Thebrain response involves a molecular player, called IKKß/NF-?B,which is known to drive metabolic inflammation in other body tissues.The discovery suggests that treatments designed to block this pathwayin the brain might fight the ever-increasing spread of obesity andrelated diseases, including diabetes and heart disease.

Hespeculates it may have been an important element for innate immunity,the body's first line of defense against pathogenic invaders, at sometime in the distant past.

In today's society, this pathway is mobilized by a different environmental challenge-overnutrition