Posted on 08/20/2007 1:44:54 PM PDT by Responsibility2nd
CHICAGO (Reuters) - A common virus caused human adult stem cells to turn into fat cells and could explain why some people become obese, U.S. researchers said on Monday.
The research builds on prior studies of adenovirus-36 -- a common cause of respiratory and eye infections -- and it may lead to an obesity vaccine, they said.
"We're not talking about preventing all types of obesity, but if it is caused by this virus in humans, we want a vaccine to prevent this," said Nikhil Dhurandhar, an associate professor at Pennington Biomedical Research Center at Louisiana State University System.
The virus adenovirus-36 or Ad-36, caused animals to pack on the pounds in lab experiments. "These animals accumulated a lot of fat," Dhurandhar said in a telephone interview.
Dhurandhar also has shown that obese people were three times more likely to have been infected with Ad-36 than thin people in a large study of humans.
Now, researchers in Dhurandhar's lab have shown that exposure to the virus caused adult human stem cells to turn into fat-storing cells.
Dr. Magdalena Pasarica, who led the study, obtained adult stem cells from fat tissue of people who had undergone liposuction. Stem cells are a type of master cell that exist in an immature form and give rise to more specialized cells.
Half of the stem cells were exposed to the virus Ad-36. After a week, most of the infected stem cells developed into fat cells, while the uninfected cells were unchanged.
Pasarica presented her findings at a meeting of the American Chemical Society in Boston.
"The virus appears to change their commitment to a fat storing cell," Dhurandhar said, adding that Ad-36 is just one of 10 pathogens linked to obesity and that more may be out there.
He acknowledged that some people might find it hard to believe that a virus could be responsible for obesity.
"Certainly overeating has something to do with gaining weight. No doubt about that. But that is not the whole truth," Dhurandhar said. "There are multiple causes of obesity. They range from simple overeating to genes to metabolism and perhaps viruses and infections."
Long term, he said he hoped to develop a vaccine and perhaps treatments for the virus. But first, he and colleagues need to better understand the role of Ad-36 in human obesity, he said.
Globally, around 400 million people are obese, including 20 million children under age 5, according to the World Health Organization.
Well it's not your fault. Just because you ate a dozen donuts for breakfast.
Now we can blame Ad-36.
It’s the Bigmacaccoccis virus.
That’s it!
I have a virus!
Talk about a Mac attack. Now a big mac is a virus.
lol
That’s how the libs respond to evidence that runs counter to their global warming theory.
How about if you eat a cup of salad greens, 6 oz of chicken and a Tbsp of low fat dressing a day and are still fat?
I know, eat less/move more. Eat less and move more til ya faint and have your hair fall out. It doesn’t matter as long as you’re thin, right?
Those who are naturally thin would have starved to death out on the prairie if bodies did not go into starvation mode.
I don’t think I have ever heard of anyone who consumes a diet under 1,000 calories a day being fat. I have been a part of an over-eating support group for the last year and have seen many in the group who were obese change their lives.
I guess it will be easy to tell who didn’t get their vaccination shot...
Off the topic a bit, but I was just driving home and happened to be checking out XM channel 4, which plays ‘40s songs. And the first thing I heard was this: “Huggin’ & Chalkin’”, by Hoagy Carmichael. I hadn’t heard of this song before, but here are the lyrics. Wow. Can you imagine something like this being written today in our PC times?
Huggin’ & Chalkin’
I got a gal who’s mighty sweet
Big blue eyes and tiny feet
Her name is Rosabelle Magee
And she tips the scales at three-oh-three
Oh, gee, but ain’t it grand to have a gal so big and fat
That when you go to hug her, you don’t know where you’re at
You have to take a piece of chalk in your hand
And hug a ways and chalk a mark to see where you began
One day I was a-huggin’ and a-chalkin’ and a-chalkin’ and a-huggin’ away
When I met another fella with some chalk in his hand
A-comin’ around the other way over the mountain
A-comin’ around the other way
Nobody ever said I’m weak
My bones don’t ache, my joints don’t creak
But I grow pale and I get limp
Every time I see my baby blimp
Oh, gee, but ain’t it grand to have a gal so big and fat
That when you go to hug her
You don’t know where you’re at
You have to take a piece of chalk in your hand
And hug a bit and chalk a mark to see where you began!
One day I was a-huggin’ and a-chalkin’ and a-beggin’ her to be my bride
When I met another fella with some chalk in his hand
A-comin’ around the other side (over that mountain)
A-comin’ around the other side
She’s a mile wide!
Chalkin’ up a markdown and yellin’ “No More!”
When I met another fella with some chalk in his hand
A-comin’ around the other side (over the mountain)
Over the Great Divide!!
Filmaker Michael Moore of the Film Actors Guild immediately issued a statement blaming the U.S. health care system for failing to cure the viral infection making him fat.
That’s a great song!
I’ve never heard it before either.
I wonder if he uses flour?
And no... I won’t explain my question!
I thought Macs couldn’t get viruses... Maybe people should have an Apple a day...
(Apologies in advance for the techie humor)
>>I don’t think I have ever heard of anyone who consumes a diet under 1,000 calories a day being fat.<<
I have. I watched my niece do it. Sooner or later when you go back to eating normally (like with bread), you gain weight. Most times, more than what you took off. How long can one eat only 1000 calories? It has to be forever.
The problem is that diets fail. Eventually, one’s body gets used to an amount of calories. Plateaus happen. People are eating salads and not losing a pound. One only has so much time to exercise.
So for some people, the eat less/move more formula works. When one has to lose 20 pounds, it works.
When one is staring at hundreds, there is something else going on.
my girlfriend consumes 1000 calories a day and does 30 minutes of cardio on a elliptical and she has been at it for 4 months and hasn’t lost more than 5 lbs. she has hyper or hypo thyroid issues? I swear she drinks water by the gallon and eats like a bird, does weights and cardio and can’t loose hardly any weight at all. I think she weights about 150 and is 5 feet tall. It is sad to see her work so hard and deprive herself of so much for such dismal results. Is there nothing they can do for a bad thyroid....the meds don’t seem to help at all although she says if she stops taking them she gains weight...the math just doesn’t add up!
More evidence of the pervasiveness of junk science, hyped by attention-hungry media.
We should not be so dismissive.
Remember the Doctors were all laughing when that Australian Doctor said ulcers were caused by a bacteria. They stopped laughing after he infected himself creating stomach ulcers and then cured himself. He won the nobel prize for medicine.
This is not for all obesity but if we can eliminate this one form then those that remain will be the emotional/self imposed obesity.
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