Ruth Hanssen

Institute of Translational Metabolism Research (CECAD) | | Policlinic for Endocrinology, Diabetes and Preventive Medicine (UHC)

Dr. med. Ruth Hanssen

Principal Investigator
Translational Metabolism Research

+49 221 478 30691

ruth.hanssen[at]uk-koeln.de

Website

Curriculum Vitae

Research Areas

Obesity and Metabolic Diseases

Obesity affects one quarter of the German population. Our group works on disentangling the underlying mechanisms focusing on body-brain interactions and translating the latest findings from cell/animal studies to humans and clinical application.

Research Focus

The focus of our research group is on investigating the causes of metabolic age-associated diseases, in particular overweight and obesity, as well as improving and developing new treatment options for long-term weight reduction. Although lack of exercise and excessive food intake have long been known to be the main causes of obesity, conservative approaches to weight reduction based on changes in eating and exercise behavior are only successful in the long term in around 17% to 20% of patients. To date, the mechanisms at the neurobiological, endocrinological, immunological and genetic/epigenetic level, that lead to sustained weight loss and improvement of obesity-associated diseases, are still insufficiently understood.

Obesity is a chronic disease driven by functional brain changes, that is currently incurable. Understanding the underlying mechanisms promoting weight gain and maintenance of increased body weight are essential for finding permanent cures.

Our Goals

Our research group works on disentangling the mechanisms promoting obesity in humans focusing on body-brain-environment interactions and translating the latest basic scientific findings from cell/animal studies to humans and clinical application. Our current goals include:

Investigate if functional brain alteration in obesity are reversible
Obesity and insulin resistance lead to functional brain changes and alterations in motivation and learning. It is currently unknown, if these impairments are reversible and which intervention is required to reach reversibility at which biological age. We investigate which intervention at which level of metabolic disease/obesity is required to normalize brain functions such as learning and motivation.
Shed light on liver brain crosstalk in humans
We investigate if and how brain and liver communicate in humans to promote liver priming for upcoming nutrients before the onset of a meal and if this cross-talk is impaired in aging associated metabolic diseases.
Assess the effect of nature-based interventions on health in obesity
In this international cooperation project, we investigate how nature-based interventions can lead to stress reduction and consequently improved health in humans with obesity and emotional eating.

Key Publications

Hanssen R, Rigoux L, Kusmanovic B, Iglesias S, Kretschme AC, Sclahmann M, Albus K, Edwin Thanaraja S, Sitnikow T, Melzer C, Cornely OA, Brüning JC, Tittgemeyer M. Liraglutide restores impaired associative learning in people with obesity. Nat Metab 5, 1352–1363 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42255-023-00859-y
Hanssen R*, Auwerx C*, Jõeloo M, Sadler MC, Research Team EstBB, Henning E, Keogh J, Bounds R, Smith M, Firth H, Kutalik Z, Farooqi IS, Reymond A, Lawler K. Chromosomal deletions on 16p11.2 encompassing SH2B1 are associated with accelerated metabolic disease. Cell Rep Med, 2023. 4(8): p. 101155.
Hanssen R*, Rigoux L*, Albus K, Kretschmer AC, Edwin Thanarajah S, Chen W, Hinze Y, Giavalisco P, Steculorum SM, Cornely OA, Brüning J, Tittgemeyer M. Circulating uridine dynamically and adaptively regulates food intake in humans. Cell Rep Med, 2023;4(1):100897. Doi: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2022.100897
Hanssen R*, Kretschmer AC*, Rigoux L, Albus K, Edwin Thanarajah S, Sitnikow T, Melzer C, Cornely OA, Brüning JC and Tittgemeyer M.
GLP-1 and hunger modulate incentive motivation depending on insulin sensitivity in humans. Mol Metab, 2021;45:101163. doi: 10.1016/j.molmet.2021.101163
Edwin Thanarajah S, Difelicenantonia AG, Albus K, Kuzmanovic B, Rigoux L, Iglesias S, Hanssen R, Schlamann M, Cornely O, Brüning J, Tittgemeyer M, Small D. Habitual daily intake of a sweet and fatty snack modulates reward processing in humans. Cell Metbolism, 2023; doi:10.1016/j.cmet.2023.02.015