by Laura Williamson, American Heart Association Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain Anyone who has put on a few too many pounds knows they can slow you down. Over time, if those pounds grow into obesity, they may do serious harm, putting you at risk for a wide range of illnesses. But too much weight on the body also...
The bacteria inside our guts are fine-tuning our metabolism, depending on our diet, and new research suggests how they accomplish it. Emory researchers have identified an obesity-promoting chemical produced by intestinal bacteria. The chemical, called delta-valerobetaine, suppresses the liver’s capacity to oxidize fatty acids. The findings were recently published in Nature Metabolism. Image credit: Emory University...
by Kathy Katella, Yale University “Obesity is a complex metabolic disease with a clear biological basis, and we can treat it with targeted therapy aimed at the biology,” says Ania Jastreboff, MD, PhD, a Yale Medicine adult and pediatric endocrinologist. Credit: Anthony DeCarlo There is no magic pill that will cure obesity, a condition that affects...
By Nick Lavars A new understanding of mitochondria dysfunction in mice has uncovered a potential new treatment target for obesity wir0man/Depositphotos VIEW 1 IMAGES Among the many ways obesity negatively impacts the human body is through an impaired metabolism and reduced endurance in skeletal muscle, and a new study has now shed light on a...
by Boston University School of Medicine Three-dimensional culture of human breast cancer cells, with DNA stained blue and a protein in the cell surface membrane stained green. Image created in 2014 by Tom Misteli, Ph.D., and Karen Meaburn, Ph.D. at the NIH IRP. Obesity, insulin resistance and Type 2 diabetes are risk factors for breast cancer...
IMAGE: PROFESSOR RAUL MENDEZ CREDIT: WORLDWIDE CANCER RESEARCH Researchers in Spain, funded by the UK charity Worldwide Cancer Research, have discovered a new drug target that could help protect against diet-induced obesity and its related health issues. The research, led by Professors Mercedes Fernandez and Raul Mendez, found that a protein called CPEB4 was present...
IMAGE: ATHEROSCLEROTIC TRAITS REFERRED TO AS ARTERIAL STIFFNESS SEEM TO INDEPENDENTLY CAUSE ELEVATED BLOOD PRESSURE AND HYPERTENSION AMONG ADOLESCENTS AND YOUNG ADULTS. THE PREVENTION AND TREATMENT OF HYPERTENSION AMONG THE YOUNG POPULATION SHOULD INCLUDE STRATEGIES TO DECREASE ARTERIAL STIFFNESS. CREDIT: ANDREW AGBAJE Arterial stiffness is a novel risk factor to be targeted for preventing and...
by Nottingham Trent University Graphical abstract. Credit: DOI: 10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2021.08.233 A large proportion of the damaging chemical changes which occur in the body’s cells due to diabetes and obesity could be prevented by a naturally occurring molecule, a new study suggests. In type 2 diabetes, when glucose stays in the blood it is not used as fuel for...
by Monash University Credit: Shutterstock Monash University researchers have shown for the first time that mesenteric (gut) lymphatic dysfunction is a potential cause of and therapeutic target for obesity and insulin resistance. The groundbreaking study, published in Nature Metabolism, identified a profoundly damaging cycle in which a high fat diet promotes dysfunction of the mesenteric lymphatics, that in turn leads to...
by Laura Paton, Rush University Medical Center Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain The stress, isolation and disruption of our routines during the coronavirus pandemic have taken their toll on many of us, leading to an increase in related health problems ranging from weight gain to back pain. We talked with three Rush experts about what they’re seeing...
