Could America's obesity epidemic be solved with a vaccine? A newly released study concluded that it could be possible.
The new experimental vaccine targets a hormone known to slow metabolism and cause weight gain. When tested on obese mice, studies showed they lost about 10 percent of their weight in just four days...
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Experimental Drug Suppresses Appetite in Mice: Study
An experimental drug tested in mice might one day help people lose weight and keep it off long-term, according to researchers.
The drug, called JD5037, increases sensitivity to the hormone leptin, a natural appetite suppressant found in the body, according to a study in the July 26 issue of the journal Cell Metabolism.
"By sensitizing the body to naturally occurring leptin, the new drug could not only promote weight loss, but also help maintain it," senior study author George Kunos, of the U.S. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, said in a journal news release. "This finding bodes well for the development of a new class of compounds for the treatment of obesity and its metabolic consequences."
Leptin supplements alone are not effective at helping people lose excess weight, according to the release. It's believed that this is due to desensitization to leptin, which means that the body can no longer respond to leptin.
In this study, the researchers found that JD5037 suppressed the appetite of obese mice and led to weight loss, in part by resensitizing the mice to leptin...
The drug, called JD5037, increases sensitivity to the hormone leptin, a natural appetite suppressant found in the body, according to a study in the July 26 issue of the journal Cell Metabolism.
"By sensitizing the body to naturally occurring leptin, the new drug could not only promote weight loss, but also help maintain it," senior study author George Kunos, of the U.S. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, said in a journal news release. "This finding bodes well for the development of a new class of compounds for the treatment of obesity and its metabolic consequences."
Leptin supplements alone are not effective at helping people lose excess weight, according to the release. It's believed that this is due to desensitization to leptin, which means that the body can no longer respond to leptin.
In this study, the researchers found that JD5037 suppressed the appetite of obese mice and led to weight loss, in part by resensitizing the mice to leptin...
An apple peel a day keeps fat away
Ursolic acid - a waxy substance found in apple peel - increases muscle and brown fat in mice that are on a high-fat diet.
These mice burn more calories and have reduced obesity levels, pre-diabetes and fatty liver disease than the mice that do not receive the supplement. Researhers believe that this might be helpful in reducing obesity...
These mice burn more calories and have reduced obesity levels, pre-diabetes and fatty liver disease than the mice that do not receive the supplement. Researhers believe that this might be helpful in reducing obesity...
Root Cause Discovered for Obesity, Atherosclerosis; PhenObestin 37.5 Can Help
Researchers from the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB) and Singapore Bioimaging Consortium (SBIC) proved that the same gene allowed mice to gain weight and develop atherosclerosis, a progressive disease of the large arteries. Mice that lacked this gene resisted gaining weight or developing atherosclerosis. The groundbreaking research was published in the July 3 issue of Cell Metabolism.
In both obesity and atherosclerosis, lipid droplets accumulate in fat cells. The mice lacking in the crucial gene did not accumulate lipid droplets in their fat cells. The mechanism by which this occurred appeared to be related to the body’s natural autophagy process of degrading undesired cellular components...
In both obesity and atherosclerosis, lipid droplets accumulate in fat cells. The mice lacking in the crucial gene did not accumulate lipid droplets in their fat cells. The mechanism by which this occurred appeared to be related to the body’s natural autophagy process of degrading undesired cellular components...
New Target for Treating Diabetes and Obesity
Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified a potential target for treating diabetes and obesity.
Studying mice, they found that when the target protein was disabled, the animals became more sensitive to insulin and were less likely to get fat even when they ate a high-fat diet that caused their littermates to become obese...
Studying mice, they found that when the target protein was disabled, the animals became more sensitive to insulin and were less likely to get fat even when they ate a high-fat diet that caused their littermates to become obese...
Neutrophils help kick off insulin resistance in obesity
Experts have found that neutrophils play an important role in initiating the chronic inflammation that characterizes obesity-induced insulin resistance.
"These results are largely unexpected," said co-author Day Young Oh, from the University of California in San Diego, USA, in a press statement. "Although several immune cells have been established in the etiology of insulin resistance, the role of neutrophils in this process has remained unclear until now."
The team determined the time course of neutrophil infiltration in the adipose tissue of mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD), using fluorescence-activated cell sorting to identify adipose tissue neutrophils (ATNs).
As reported in Nature Medicine, there was a rapid increase in ATN levels after just 3 days of HFD feeding and ATN content remained elevated 12 weeks into the diet. Similarly, the expression of neutrophil elastase, a protease secreted by neutrophils, was significantly increased 3 days into the HFD and remained elevated after 12 weeks.
Consistent with these findings, neutrophil elastase activity was also significantly higher in the HFD mice after 12 weeks than it was in mice fed standard chow...
"These results are largely unexpected," said co-author Day Young Oh, from the University of California in San Diego, USA, in a press statement. "Although several immune cells have been established in the etiology of insulin resistance, the role of neutrophils in this process has remained unclear until now."
The team determined the time course of neutrophil infiltration in the adipose tissue of mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD), using fluorescence-activated cell sorting to identify adipose tissue neutrophils (ATNs).
As reported in Nature Medicine, there was a rapid increase in ATN levels after just 3 days of HFD feeding and ATN content remained elevated 12 weeks into the diet. Similarly, the expression of neutrophil elastase, a protease secreted by neutrophils, was significantly increased 3 days into the HFD and remained elevated after 12 weeks.
Consistent with these findings, neutrophil elastase activity was also significantly higher in the HFD mice after 12 weeks than it was in mice fed standard chow...
Protein Fights Obesity, Diabetes
A protein that slows aging in mice and other animals also protects against the ravages of a high-fat diet, including diabetes, according to a new MIT study.
MIT biology professor Leonard Guarente discovered SIRT1’s longevity-boosting properties more than a decade ago and has since explored its role in many different body tissues. In his latest study, appearing in today’s print edition of the journal Cell Metabolism, he looked at what happens when the SIRT1 protein is missing from adipose cells, which make up body fat.
When put on a high-fat diet, mice lacking the protein started to develop metabolic disorders, such as diabetes, much sooner than normal mice given a high-fat diet...
MIT biology professor Leonard Guarente discovered SIRT1’s longevity-boosting properties more than a decade ago and has since explored its role in many different body tissues. In his latest study, appearing in today’s print edition of the journal Cell Metabolism, he looked at what happens when the SIRT1 protein is missing from adipose cells, which make up body fat.
When put on a high-fat diet, mice lacking the protein started to develop metabolic disorders, such as diabetes, much sooner than normal mice given a high-fat diet...
Hormone Levels Linked To Metabolic Disease
According to a study published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, researchers have found an association between low levels of a specific hormone and increased risk of metabolic disease in humans.
The study was conducted by Andrew Butler from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute in collaboration with Peter J. Havel, professor of molecular biosciences and nutrition at the University of California, Davis.
The researchers focused on the hormone adropin, that had been previously identified by Butler's laboratory during an analysis of obese and insulin-resistant mice. Adropin is thought to play a vital role in controlling sugar levels and fatty acid metabolism.
Butler explained:
"The results of this clinical study suggest that low levels of adropin may be a factor increasing risk for developing metabolic disorders associated with obesity and insulin resistance, which could then lead to diseases such as type 2 diabetes."
Around 47 million adults in the U.S have metabolic syndrome, as stated by the American College of Cardiology. The National Institutes of Health defines metabolic syndrome as a group of risk factors, particularly obesity and insulin resistance, that occur alongside one another and increase the risk for developing coronary artery disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes.
In the new study, which included 85 women and 45 men, the researchers demonstrated that obesity is linked with lower adropin levels. Lower adropin levels were additionally seen in people with a higher "metabolic syndrome risk factor" score, a score based on measuring triglycerides, LDL cholesterol, HDL, glucose, blood pressure, and waist circumference.
In addition, the team found circulating adropin concentrations dramatically increased at 3 and 6 months after gastric bypass surgery in patients who are morbidly obese. Remarkably, adropin levels reverted back to pre-surgical levels at 12 months after surgery.
Furthermore, the researchers found that in patients of normal weight, women had lower plasma adropin levels than men. Additionally, obesity had a greater adverse effect on adropin levels in men. According to the researchers, obesity in woman was also not connected with lower plasma adropin levels. The significance of the differences between men and woman is currently unknown.
Butler explained: "But the link between low levels of adropin and increased metabolic risk was observed in both sexes. The impact is there, irrespective of gender."
The team also discovered that adropin levels generally with age - the decline was greatest in people over Thirty years of age. Just like obesity, the aging effect seemed to be more evident in men.
The latest study is a crucial extension of previous pre-clinical studies using animal models published in the July edition of Obesity. In that study, the researchers removed the gene encoding adropin from mice and discovered that, while normal in appearance, adropin-deficient mice have insulin resistance and, when raised on high-fat diets, develop a more serious impaired glucose tolerance (IGT). These findings indicate decreased insulin production and attenuated response to insulin, which are the characterizing features of type 2 diabetes...
The study was conducted by Andrew Butler from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute in collaboration with Peter J. Havel, professor of molecular biosciences and nutrition at the University of California, Davis.
The researchers focused on the hormone adropin, that had been previously identified by Butler's laboratory during an analysis of obese and insulin-resistant mice. Adropin is thought to play a vital role in controlling sugar levels and fatty acid metabolism.
Butler explained:
"The results of this clinical study suggest that low levels of adropin may be a factor increasing risk for developing metabolic disorders associated with obesity and insulin resistance, which could then lead to diseases such as type 2 diabetes."
Around 47 million adults in the U.S have metabolic syndrome, as stated by the American College of Cardiology. The National Institutes of Health defines metabolic syndrome as a group of risk factors, particularly obesity and insulin resistance, that occur alongside one another and increase the risk for developing coronary artery disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes.
In the new study, which included 85 women and 45 men, the researchers demonstrated that obesity is linked with lower adropin levels. Lower adropin levels were additionally seen in people with a higher "metabolic syndrome risk factor" score, a score based on measuring triglycerides, LDL cholesterol, HDL, glucose, blood pressure, and waist circumference.
In addition, the team found circulating adropin concentrations dramatically increased at 3 and 6 months after gastric bypass surgery in patients who are morbidly obese. Remarkably, adropin levels reverted back to pre-surgical levels at 12 months after surgery.
Furthermore, the researchers found that in patients of normal weight, women had lower plasma adropin levels than men. Additionally, obesity had a greater adverse effect on adropin levels in men. According to the researchers, obesity in woman was also not connected with lower plasma adropin levels. The significance of the differences between men and woman is currently unknown.
Butler explained: "But the link between low levels of adropin and increased metabolic risk was observed in both sexes. The impact is there, irrespective of gender."
The team also discovered that adropin levels generally with age - the decline was greatest in people over Thirty years of age. Just like obesity, the aging effect seemed to be more evident in men.
The latest study is a crucial extension of previous pre-clinical studies using animal models published in the July edition of Obesity. In that study, the researchers removed the gene encoding adropin from mice and discovered that, while normal in appearance, adropin-deficient mice have insulin resistance and, when raised on high-fat diets, develop a more serious impaired glucose tolerance (IGT). These findings indicate decreased insulin production and attenuated response to insulin, which are the characterizing features of type 2 diabetes...
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