http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. For a long time, scientists have dreamed of converting undesirable white fat cells into brown fat cells and thus simply have excess pounds melt away. Researchers at the University of Bonn have now gotten a step closer to this goal: They decoded a "toggle switch" in mice which can significantly stimulate fat burning. The results are now being presented in the scientific journal Nature Communications. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-decode-kind-trigger-conversion-fat.html Medical research Tue, 23 Apr 2013 11:47:54 EST news285936465 Whitehead Institute researchers have identified a previously unrecognized layer of genetic regulation that is necessary for the generation of undesirable white fat cells. When this regulation is disrupted, white fat cells are unable to accumulate lipid droplets or mature from their precursors. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-noncoding-rnas-fat-cells.html Overweight and Obesity Wed, 13 Feb 2013 12:09:35 EST news279979761 Researchers from the University of Bonn treated mice with Viagra and made an amazing discovery: The drug converts undesirable white fat cells and could thus potentially melt the unwelcome "spare tire" around the midriff. In addition, the substance also decreases the risk of other complications caused by obesity. The results are now published in The Journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-viagra-fat-cells.html Medical research Thu, 17 Jan 2013 13:03:16 EST news277650184 In many cases, obesity is caused by more than just overeating and a lack of exercise. Something in the body goes haywire, causing it to store more fat and burn less energy. But what is it? Researchers at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute have a new theory—a protein called p62. According to a study the team published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, when p62 is missing in fat tissue, the body's metabolic balance shifts—inhibiting "good" brown fat, while favoring "bad" white fat. These findings indicate that p62 might make a promising target for new therapies aimed at curbing obesity. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-shifting-good-fat-bad.html Medical research Fri, 04 Jan 2013 14:47:00 EST news276533212 Flipping a newly discovered molecular switch in white fat cells enabled mice to eat a high-calorie diet without becoming obese or developing the inflammation that causes insulin resistance, report scientists from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-scientists-molecular-link-obesity-insulin.html Medical research Thu, 27 Sep 2012 12:00:25 EST news267965225 Researchers from the University of Bonn and the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry in Martinsried have decoded a signal path that could boost the burning of body fat. Mice that are missing a signal switch called VASP are clearly leaner and have more of the coveted brown and beige-colored fat cells that convert energy into heat. This might point the way to a new method for fighting obesity. The researchers presented their results in the current issue of the renowned journal Science Signaling. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-beige-fat-pounds.html Medical research Tue, 28 Aug 2012 11:45:13 EST news265373099 Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified a potential target for treating diabetes and obesity. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-diabetes-obesity.html Medical research Thu, 02 Aug 2012 14:36:59 EST news263136989 Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) researchers have identified a mechanism that can give energy-storing white fat some of the beneficial characteristics of energy-burning brown fat. The findings, based on studies of mice and of human fat tissue, could lead to new strategies for treating obesity and type 2 diabetes. The study was published today in the online edition of the journal Cell. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-mechanism-white-fat-energy-burning-brown.html Medical research Thu, 02 Aug 2012 12:00:27 EST news263126631 Scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have isolated a new type of energy-burning fat cell in adult humans which they say may have therapeutic potential for treating obesity. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-newly-isolated-beige-fat-cells.html Medical research Thu, 12 Jul 2012 12:00:04 EST news261307335 Brown seems to be the color of choice when it comes to the types of fat cells in our bodies. Brown fat expends energy, while its counterpart, white fat stores it. The danger in white fat cells, along with the increased risk for diabetes and heart disease it poses, seems especially linked to visceral fat. Visceral fat is the build-up of fat around the organs in the belly. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-candidate-pathway-visceral-obesity.html Medical research Sun, 06 May 2012 13:30:02 EST news255508881 It's well known that exercising reduces body weight because it draws on fat stores that muscle can burn as fuel. But a new study at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham) suggests that the heart also plays a role in breaking down fat. In their study, published February 6 in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Sheila Collins, Ph.D. and colleagues detail how hormones released by the heart stimulate fat cell metabolism. These hormones turn on a molecular mechanism similar to what's activated when the body is exposed to cold and burns fat to generate heat. This study adds another dimension to our understanding of how the body regulates fat tissue and may someday lead to new ways to manipulate the process with drugs to reduce weight in obese patients or maintain it in individuals who experience pathological weight loss during chronic heart failure. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-heart-hormone-fat-metabolism.html Medical research Mon, 06 Feb 2012 12:00:01 EST news247751749 Scientists have discovered a biological switch that gives energy-storing white fat the characteristics of energy-burning brown fat. The findings could lead to new strategies for treating obesity. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-scientists-white-fat-brown.html Medical research Tue, 06 Sep 2011 12:33:26 EST news234531183 Scientists at the National Institutes of Health have uncovered a pathway in mice that allows white fat – a contributor to obesity and type 2 diabetes – to burn calories in a way that's normally found in brown fat and muscle. The findings are in the July 6 edition of Cell Metabolism. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-mice-potential-curb-obesity-diabetes.html Medical research Tue, 05 Jul 2011 12:30:12 EST news229087802 By knocking down the expression of a protein in rat brains known to stimulate eating, Johns Hopkins researchers say they not only reduced the animals' calorie intake and weight, but also transformed their fat into a type that burns off more energy. The finding could lead to better obesity treatments for humans, the scientists report. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-bad-fat-good-future-treatment.html Medical research Tue, 03 May 2011 12:50:34 EST news223645789