(Press-News.org) April 19, 2011 – (BRONX, NY) – The brain's hypothalamus plays a key role in obesity and one of its major complications – type 2 diabetes. Nerve cells in the hypothalamus detect nutrients and hormones circulating in the blood and then coordinate a complex series of behavioral and physiological responses to maintain a balance between calories eaten and calories burned. Obesity and diabetes can result when this regulatory mechanism goes awry.
Now, research by postdoctoral fellow Clémence Blouet, Ph.D., and Gary Schwartz, Ph.D., professor in the Dominick P. Purpura Department of Neuroscience and of medicine at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, has revealed a molecule in the brain that may contribute to those health problems, both of which are reaching epidemic proportions. A 2008 study in the journal Obesity predicted that 86 percent of U.S. adults will be overweight or obese by 2030 if current trends continue. And last October the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that the prevalence of diabetes among American adults could rise from the current 1 in 10 to as many as 1 in 3 by 2050.
In work involving mouse models of obesity and diabetes, Drs. Blouet and Schwartz have shown that excess nutrient availability leads to an overabundance of a protein found in nutrient-sensing nerve cells of the hypothalamus. They concluded that increased levels of this protein, known as thioredoxin-interacting protein, or TXNIP, contribute to the onset of obesity and the impaired control of blood sugar levels that characterizes type 2 diabetes. Their findings were published in the April 20 online edition of the Journal of Neuroscience.
"Our study indicates that TXNIP in hypothalamic nerve cells provides a crucial link between brain nutrient sensing and the increases in body weight and fat mass that lead to obesity and diabetes," said Dr. Schwartz. "Hyperglycemia—pathologically elevated glucose levels—causes an excess of TXNIP in hypothalamic neurons, which in turn may contribute in several ways to a breakdown in energy homeostasis—the balance between calories taken in and calories burned. For example, we've found that elevated TXNIP in nerve cells contributes to obesity by decreasing energy expenditure, as evidenced by decreased physical activity, and by reducing the rate at which fat is burned to produce energy. In addition to increasing fat mass, hypothalamic TXNIP overabundance also impairs glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity—two of the hallmarks of diabetes."
Dr. Schwartz notes that these findings regarding TXNIP could eventually lead to therapies. "Interventions that can suppress TXNIP production or selectively inactivate this protein might help in preventing weight gain and the obesity and diabetes that result from it," he said.
The title of the paper is "Nutrient-sensing hypothalamic TXNIP links nutrient excess to energy imbalance in mice." The research was funded by the Skirball Institute for Nutrient Sensing and the National Institutes of Health through the Albert Einstein Diabetes Research and Training Center and the New York Obesity Research Center. Albert Einstein College of Medicine is actively seeking licensing partners interested in pursuing clinical application of this patent-pending technology.
INFORMATION:
About Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University
Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University is one of the nation's premier centers for research, medical education and clinical investigation. During the 2009-2010 academic year, Einstein is home to 722 M.D. students, 243 Ph.D.students, 128 students in the combined M.D./Ph.D. program, and approximately 350 postdoctoral research fellows. The College of Medicine has 2,775 fulltime faculty members located on the main campus and at its clinical affiliates. In 2009, Einstein received more than $155 million in support from the NIH. This includes the funding of major research centers at Einstein in diabetes, cancer, liver disease, and AIDS. Other areas where the College of Medicine is concentrating its efforts include developmental brain research, neuroscience, cardiac disease, and initiatives to reduce and eliminate ethnic and racial health disparities. Through its extensive affiliation network involving five medical centers in the Bronx, Manhattan and Long Island - which includes Montefiore Medical Center, The University Hospital and Academic Medical Center for Einstein - the College of Medicine runs one of the largest post-graduate medical training programs in the United States, offering approximately 150 residency programs to more than 2,500 physicians in training. For more information, please visit www.einstein.yu.edu
END
New research published on bmj.com today adds to mounting evidence that calcium supplements increase the risk of cardiovascular events, particularly heart attacks, in older women.
The findings suggest that their use in managing osteoporosis should be re-assessed.
Calcium supplements are often prescribed to older (postmenopausal) women to maintain bone health. Sometimes they are combined with vitamin D, but it's still unclear whether taking calcium supplements, with or without vitamin D, can affect the heart.
The Women's Health Initiative (WHI) study - a seven-year ...
Windows Casino Canada is known for its wide array of games. This has been boosted by the addition of the Top Trumps Celeb Slot game. This game features all of your favorite celebrities such as David Beckham, Kate Moss, Matt Damon.
It is a five reel, 20 payline slot game and players have the ability to pick from 30 of their favorite celebrities. In the paytable, players see six different stars which are able to be changed. The Wild Symbol can be changed to such legends as Elvis, Madonna and James Dean. Players can win free games and then there is the Red Carpet Bonus ...
Experts today challenge the view that popular drugs to prevent disease - like statins and antihypertensives to prevent heart disease and stroke, or bisphosphonates to prevent fractures – represent value for money.
In a paper published on bmj.com today, Teppo Järvinen and colleagues argue that the benefits seen when these drugs are tested in clinical trials may not apply in the real world.
They argue that value for money in real life clinical practice is likely to be much lower than in a clinical trial, where patients are carefully selected and receive special attention ...
A major culture shift is needed to address the problems of long term sickness absence in the police service, says an expert on bmj.com today.
Dr Derek Summerfield reviewed 300 cases of officers retiring on mental health grounds during his time as consultant occupational psychiatrist to the Metropolitan Police Service from 2001 to 2004.
During this time, 4.8% of the workforce was not doing full operational duties - a loss of the equivalent of 180 police officers monthly - because of stress related absence. Furthermore, retirement on mental health grounds as a proportion ...
Easter is always a fun time of the year and now it can be even more enjoyable thanks to Easter Surprise Slot. This dynamic 5 reel, 20 payline slot machine game, promises to make the holiday a memorable one. The game allows players the chance to win some fantastic cash prizes and on top of that there is the opportunity to meet the Easter Bunny.
Betting for this game starts at 1p per spin and depending on a player's status can go as high as GBP2. If a player activates all 20 paylines then their minimum bet will be GBP0.20. A player can still win big while making a bet ...
DURHAM, N.H. – Most Americans now agree that climate change is occurring, but still disagree on why, with opinions about the cause of climate change defined by political party, not scientific understanding, according to new research from the Carsey Institute at the University of New Hampshire.
Republicans most often point to natural causes of climate change while Democrats most often believe that human activities are the cause. The greatest polarization occurs among people who believe they have the best understanding.
"Although there remains active discussion among ...
A large group of distinguished scientists published a very detailed and rather complex paper describing the association between alcohol consumption and cancer in the BMJ. It is based on data from the EPIC study in Europe, with a mean follow up of 8.8 years for more than 300,000 subjects. The authors describe an increase in risk of many cancers from alcohol intake, but do not give data permitting the detection of a threshold of intake for an adverse effect on cancer risk. The investigators conclude that "In western Europe, an important proportion of cases of cancer can ...
Neiker-Tecnalia (the Basque Institute for Agricultural Research and Development) is working on the development of new biotechnological tools to produce in vitro selected trees of the Pinus genus. Scientists at this technological centre have developed various techniques for propagation of Pinus radiata, Pinus pinea, Pinus pinaster and Pinus sylvestris by using tissue culture. These methodologies enable obtaining a great quantity of clonal material, which can be used both in genetic improve programmes and experimentation, and in programmes of reforestation according to market ...
It is hard to believe but Posh Bingo has just turned one. In that time hundreds of players have won millions of pounds at Posh Bingo. That is why Posh Bingo is so loved by its players. It gives them so many different chances to win. It has the best range and selection of games.
Such as the daily penny pre-buy game. Here players can win GBP25 in a 75 ball bingo game. The daily penny Bingo game occurs every day at 8.15pm. Like the name suggests, cards for this game only cost 1p. Players can buy anywhere between 1 and 96 cards for this game for which you need to be a funded ...
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Despite the growing scientific consensus that global warming is real, Americans have become increasingly polarized on the environmental problem, according to a first-of-its-kind study led by a Michigan State University researcher.
The gap between Democrats and Republicans who believe global warming is happening increased 30 percent between 2001 and 2010 – a "depressing" trend that's essentially keeping meaningful national energy policies from being considered, argues sociologist Aaron M. McCright.
"Instead of a public debate about different policies ...
