Abstract: The invention relates to the use of a compound of the retinoid type particularly retinoid acid for the preparation of a medicament capable of modulating in vivo the decoupling activity of decoupling proteins. These compounds can be used conveniently for the treatment of diseases associated to an increase or reduction of the activity of decoupling proteins. According to a preferred embodiment, the retinoid acid will be used for the treatment of disease associate to a reduction of the decoupling activity of the protein UCP2 such as for example obesity.

Abstract: The invention relates to the use of a compound of the retinoid type particularly retinoid acid for the preparation of a medicament capable of modulating in vivo the decoupling activity of decoupling proteins. These compounds can be used conveniently for the treatment of diseases associated to an increase or reduction of the activity of decoupling proteins. According to a preferred embodiment, the retinoid acid will be used for the treatment of disease associate to a reduction of the decoupling activity of the protein UCP2 such as for example obesity.

Abstract: The present invention concerns the design of a method for determining the activity of UCPs and which method can be used to evaluate the ability of different drugs to modify the activity of said proteins. These drugs may be used in the treatment of all diseases and conditions in which changes in thermogenic activity occur. Examples of these are obesity, fever, cachexia etc. Since the activity of the UCPs produces changes in the respiration rate, in the present method the activity of the UCPs is determined by monitoring the disappearance of NADH or NAD(P)H from the reduction in absorption between 300 and 380 nm or in fluorescence from 420-520 nm. In this method, these coenzymes are oxidised by the mitochondria of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae in which different UCPs are expressed in a recombinant manner.

Abstract: The invention relates to the use of a compound of the retinoid type particularly retinoid acid for the preparation of a medicament capable of modulating in vivo the decoupling activity of decoupling proteins. These compounds can be used conveniently for the treatment of diseases associated to an increase or reduction of the activity of decoupling proteins. According to a preferred embodiment, the retinoid acid will be used for the treatment of disease associate to a reduction of the decoupling activity of the protein UCP2 such as for example obesity.