Fat Cells & Obesity

(American Health Newswire)-- Millions of adults are diagnosed with obesity each year, but how do fat cell membranes adapt to this high body mass index? A study led by Matej Oresic, from VTT Technical Research Center of Finland, suggests that adaptation of fat cell membranes to obesity may play a major role in early stages of inflammatory disorders.

Many of those diagnosed with obesity suffer from a disorder known as metabolic syndrome which includes symptoms such as hypertension and elevated blood cholesterol. They are also at risk of developing additional diseases such as heart disease and diabetes mellitus. Antonio Vidal-Puig, from the University of Cambridge, Matej Oresic and colleagues used lipidomics, the large scale study of pathways and networks of cellular lipids inbiological systems, to study the fat tissue biopsies among several sets of twins.

Monozygotic twins were used for the study because they share the same DNA and early upbringing, accounting for the impact of certain factors on adult body mass phenotypes while leaving other factors such as diet and lifestyle choices as the major variables.  In each twin pair, one twin was obese while the other exhibited a normal body mass index. Men are considered obese is they have more than 25 percent body fat and women if they are more than 30 percent.

Researchers found that the obese twins had lower amount of polyunsaturated fatty acids in their diet. Fatty acids supply energy for the muscles, heart, and other organs. Polyunsaturated fatty acids are "good" fatty acids providing many health benefits when used to replace saturated fatty acids. Unexpectedly, the study found that obese people had higher amounts of certain types of lipids containing polyunsaturated fatty acids in theiradipose tissues than their non obese twin.

This finding is interesting because cell membranes are primarily composed of lipids which can alter the membranes physical properties such as fluidity. The author's of the study found that the new lipids observed in the cells of the obese twins, balanced each other in a way that overall membrane fluidity was unaffected. The authors concluded that the lipid-content changes in obese individuals might be an adaptation to preserve membrane function as the cells expand. However, this adaptation can only go so far and breaks down in those who are morbidly obese.

Data points to some of the mechanisms that the body may use to adapt to excess fat. These results may also explain why obese people are at risk of developing inflammatory disorders. These findings, while needing to be validated in further studies, represent a valuable angle to approach this problem.

SOURCE: PLos Biology, June 6, 2011

Sex Supplement Improves Life of Cancer Survivors

(American Health Newswire)--How can a supplement marketed as improving sexual function significantly improve quality of life for female cancer survivors? According to researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, the natural nutritional supplement, ArginMax for Women TM, can benefit female cancer survivors in ways beyond the bedroom.

Sexual dysfunction is prevalent in female cancer survivors and thus radiation oncologist at Wake Forest Baptist, Kathryn M. Greven, M.D., set out to see if this supplement could produce the same benefits for cancer survivors. Through her studies, she found that although these women's sexual functions did not improve, their overall quality of life did.

Adult female volunteers had to be at least six months beyond their last active treatment for any kind of cancer. The supplement and placebo pills were provided for the study that included 186 female cancer survivors from across the country. Participants received three capsules of either ArginMax TM or placebo twice a day for 12 weeks and were asked to complete two standardized questionnaires to measure sexual function and quality of life. The study findings revealed an across-the-board boost in measures of quality of life for the patients who were randomized to take ArginMax TM.

"The group taking the supplements experienced significant improvement in overall quality of life, particularly physical well being," Greven was quoted as saying.

She continued to say, "Bothersome symptoms such as lack of energy, pain, nausea, and sleeplessness were all improved, as were measures of functional well-being...simply they reported a greater enjoyment of life, without any additional side effects from the supplement."

Edward G. Shaw, M.D., M.A., an oncologist as well as a counselor, is principal investigator for Wake Forest Baptist's Community Clinical Oncology Program Research Base and a co-researcher of the study. He explained that cancer survivors can suffer from persistent inflammation that can continue for years following cancer treatment. He hypothesizes that the ingredients in ArginMax for Women TM may be counteracting this process.

"It is very exciting that we've found something that has the potential to affect and improve quality of life for female cancer survivors...We still need to do further work to find an approach that will improve female sexual dysfunction," Greven was quoted saying.

SOURCE: American Society of Clinical Oncology, June 6, 2011

Six Scary Supplements: Prescription or Poison?

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American Health Newswire) -- There are more than 20,000 available herbal products in the United States. About 1 in 5 Americans report using a supplement in the past year. However, these alternative remedies are not regulated by the FDA, and some of them might be deadly.

Toxicologist Amitava Dasgupta says there's something to treat just about everything, but there's a huge misconception about herbal supplements.

"Anything natural is safe. That is a misconception because there are lots of natural products, which are very toxic," Dasgupta, Ph.D., professor of pathology laboratory medicine at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) Medical School, told American Health.