In an article published in the December 31, 2006 online edition of Nature Medicine, Yale School of Medicine researchers reported that estrogen regulates the brain's energy metabolism in the same way that the hormone leptin does.

Such finding leads to a possible approach in targeting obesity in leptin-resistant individuals.

The study was led by Tamas L. Horvath, chair and professor of Comparative Medicine and professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences at Yale School of Medicine:

" We found that estrogen suppresses appetite using the same pathways in the brain as the adipose hormone leptin.

...estrogen is a strong regulator of energy metabolism through the brain. They show that while the pathway of estrogen-induced intracellular signaling merges with that of leptin, estrogen's effect on feeding and obesity is independent from leptin or the leptin receptor.

Impaired estrogen signaling in the brain may be the cause of metabolic changes during menopause. Brain-selective mimics of estrogen could be a viable approach to tackle obesity in the case of leptin resistance."

Find more details from the press release.