Dr. Martin Picard

And as far as we know, the only place, or as far as the community believes, the only place where there's a receptor for GDF-15 is in the brain.

But the brain doesn't make GDF-15.

GDF15 is made by every other organ in the body, including tumors.

So what happens is that people with very high GDF15 feel terrible.

And if you actually inject GDF15 into an animal to ask, what does it do?

Like, what does GDF15 mean if you have a lot of it in your blood?

Well, animals actually puke.

And it caused, you know, an aversive reaction.

Visceral malaise is the technical term.

So you feel like shit.

GDF-15, which is produced by cells struggling energetically anywhere in the body, signal to the brain and makes you feel like shit.

We know now also GDF-15 is the trigger for morning sickness in pregnancy.

So the reason, you know, women, especially hyperemesis gravitarum, HG, which is like terrible women who have this,

Many of them want to terminate their pregnancy.

It's so horrible.

If GDF-15 rises 10,000-fold, there are not many hormones that can increase that much.

During pregnancy, the placenta sends out GDF-15 maybe to tell the mother, chill out, reallocate your energy.

You're growing something that is costing a lot of energy.

So we know GDF-15 does this.

So now what pharmaceutical companies have tried to do is to say, okay, let's block GDF-15 signaling so people don't feel like shit.