GDF15, Morning Sickness & Mitochondrial Stress | Stephen O'Rahilly | Episode 311

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Dr. Stephen O'Rahilly explains GDF15, a stress hormone that makes us feel sick and eat less, and why morning sickness, and its severe form hyperemesis gravidarum (HG), comes from GDF15 made by the fetus.

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TOPICS DISCUSSED:

• What GDF15 Is: A hormone made by stressed cells, sensed only in two small regions of the brainstem.

• A Warning Hormone: It rises with toxins, chemotherapy and cellular stress, not with ordinary meals or overfeeding.

• Rate of Change Matters: The brain tracks how fast GDF15 rises, and chronic exposure desensitizes it.

• Mitochondria and Mortality: GDF15 helps diagnose mitochondrial disease and predicts mortality.

• Metformin and GLP-1 Drugs: GDF15 explains metformin's modest weight loss and may overlap with GLP-1 nausea.

• Morning Sickness and Hyperemesis Gravidarum: The fetus makes nearly all the GDF15; women with low prior GDF15 are most sensitive.

• Drugs That Raise or Block GDF15: Disappointing weight-loss drugs, and blockers for cachexia and hyperemesis gravidarum.

• Healthy vs. Unhealthy Fat Storage: Why fat cells largely decide who gets sick with weight gain.

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