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.
biblical times were after the advent of agriculture. Too recent for our bodies to have adapted.
Viruses are darned hard to kill if your body doesn't do it on its own. No cure for the common cold either.
Might be something good to come from all the money put into AIDS research. Well *some* of the money.
For most viral diseases, vaccination, which trains your body to kill the virus, is the answer rather than trying to kill it after you get a bad case of it.
The lightest I weighed in my adult life was 180 pounds at 5’ 10” - when I returned from Viet Nam. Even at 180 my ribs were visible. The rest of my Army career I weighed around the 200 - 220 pound range. Every year when the weigh in came around I would be over the standard and have to have a body fat measurement taken. I was never over 20%. I maintained that weight for several years after retiring until I took a job driving a taxi. Setting on my butt for 12 -14 hours a day and eating at the fat food drive through did me in. I weighed 285 when I quit. I had a sizable apron.
When my wife died I lost interest in a lot of things and my weight dropped to 235. I wanted to lose more, and lived on 1000 calories a day for close to a year - I didn’t lose an ounce. I increased my food intake and started working out with weights about 2 years ago. I now weigh about 220 with 20% body fat. I doubt I will ever get below 200 pounds. I did get rid of that apron - now my waist is 4” smaller than my chest and hips. I am still “obese” by the standard set by the idiotic Body Mass Index, but not by body fat percentage.
No, I was the one that weighted 105, lived on SlimFast, fainted and had my hair fall out. Anorexia can do that.
Thanks.
Some gain it with steroids from illness, some gain it from pregnancy.
50 pounds from toxemia and 100 from steroids with no change in eating.
Of course it’s all over indulging./s/
Carolyn
maybe we can infect all the starving africans and north koreans with this virus, famine cured on the cheap
There is non “one cause” of obesity. There are a variety of causes, from simply lack of self-control, to dietary choices, to genetics, to viral infections. Even heart disease has multiple causes, including viral causes. Medical research is not an exact science, and there will never be a “magic pill” that solves all conditions, with no repsonsibility on the part of the individual.
some of the lifegaurds at our pool are fairly large, I just think of them as extra bouyant
she takes the non-synthetic. What are nutritional thyroid co-factors?
HIIT routine? What is that?
good dietary cholesterol? What foods do you recommend?
thanks!
Various other glandular extracts. See a supplement called "Thyroplex", developed by Dr. Jonathon Wright. Sometimes the thyroid isn't the only thing not working correctly. If she hasn't, she probably ought to see an endocrinologist.
Wright was of the opinion the it was sometimes the case that the function of the support organs wasn't depressed enough to actually reach the level termed "disease" by today's standards, but they were under-performing sufficiently to screw things up.
We had never had any problems losing any (minor) weight gains until after all this crap happened. Some might say it ie because we are older. Well, older doesn't matter unless your thyroid slows. There is too much stuff in foods nowadays that screws the thyroid up. Maybe only a little but still messes it up. My first thyroid panels were all in the "normal" range except for Free T3 which was higher. Some doctors have learned that just because the thyroid results are in the "normal" range doesn't mean the thyroid is not compromised and the "normal" range is not what "your" range is. They dose on symptoms not ranges. HUbby is on Armour but it hasn't done much other than to help him sleep somewhat. This new saliva test I ordered for him will give results of cortisol levels and he needs that. He is the only person I know (other than our kidney daughter) who is as jumpy as him. I love that site. It has a forum to go to to read and ask questions. They are all people who have thyroid/adrenal/pituatary problems and know what's what. IMO, more than most docs.
I think it came around in the 80s too. I have a general tendency to discount all news stories that develop a cycle. Like the annual “worst flu season ever”, the annual “gas is going to cost $5 a gallon”, the twice a decade “speed is sweeping through our nation’s youth”, and all the other mimeographed stories. Sure I suppose there is a statistical possibility that the “fat is caused by a virus” story could actually be legit, but until the story includes “and this pill kills the virus” I’m going to scoff.
But eating is a voluntary act, and so is sitting on your ass not doing anything. Weight can be dropped and kept off, sure it requires work, but so does everything else in life that’s worth a damn.
Well one of the reasons there’s no cure for the common cold is that it actually doesn’t exist, it’s actually a couple dozen different interrelated viruses that interbreed recombine and mutate constantly. Same reason we can’t cure the flu. But other viruses can be killed, sure it’s tough, but that’s what these guys get paid for.
It is rather astonishing that folks would dismiss these findings: "that obese people were three times more likely to have been infected with Ad-36 than thin people in a large study of humans."
As the researchers said, there are many other factors involved as well. But a 3x disparity is very significant.
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