Archives for March 2010

Common Mechanisms of Drug Abuse and Obesity

Some of the same brain mechanisms that fuel drug addiction in humans accompany the emergence of compulsive eating behaviors and the development of obesity in animals, according to research funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), a component of the National Institutes of Health.

The study, conducted by researchers at the Scripps Research Institute, was released on March 28th in the online version of Nature Neuroscience and will also appear in the journal’s May 2010 print issue. When investigators gave rats access to varying levels of high-fat foods, they found unrestricted availability alone can trigger addiction-like responses in the brain, leading to compulsive eating behaviors and the onset of obesity.

“Drug addiction and obesity are two of the most challenging health problems in the United States,” said Dr. Nora D. Volkow, director of NIDA. “This research opens the door for us to apply some of the knowledge we have gathered about drug addiction to the study of overeating and obesity.”

Both obesity and drug addiction have been linked to a dysfunction in the brain’s reward system. In both cases overconsumption can trigger a gradual increase in the reward threshold — requiring more and more palatable high fat food or reinforcing drug to satisfy the craving over time.

Diet Quality Worsens as Alcohol Intake Increases

According to a new study by researchers at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), National Cancer Institute (NCI), and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), people who drink more are also likely to eat less fruit and consume more calories from a combination of alcoholic beverages and foods high in unhealthy fats and added sugars.

Alcoholic drinks

World TB Day 2010: On the Move Against Tuberculosis

Today is World Tuberculosis Day; it’s celebrated annually on March 24th. The event is used to raise awareness about the ongoing fight against the disease. This year’s theme is on innovation and focuses on individuals around the world who have found new ways to stop TB and can serve as an inspiration to others.

WorldTBDay

Tuberculosis or TB, which is short for Tubercles Bacillus, is a common and often deadly infectious disease caused by mycobacteria in humans. TB usually attacks the lungs but it can also affect other parts of the body. More than 2 billion people are infected with TB bacilli; 1 in 10 will become sick with active TB in their lifetime [1]. Left untreated, more than 50% of those infected will die from the disease.

Crohns Disease Treatment Also Helps Protect the Gut From Infection

ResearchBlogging.org

The gene Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony Stimulating Factor (GM-CSF) encodes a cytokine, a signaling molecule secreted by immune cells that has an effect on other cells and is involved in inflammation. A recent report in Cell Host and Microbe reveals that in the gut, GM-CSF helps protect against infection by a bacterial pathogen [1].

Dendritic cell

GM-CSF has long been known to promote the survival and differentiation of dendritic cells, immune cells that are present in small quantities in tissues that are in contact with the external environment, including the skin and the inner lining of the nose, lungs, stomach and intestines. Dendritic cells are immune modulators that originate in the bone marrow and travel through the blood and lymph to the peripheral tissues in an immature state. Once they arrive, they differentiate and function as professional “antigen presenting cells”: they alert T cells and B cells to the presence of any foreign invaders. The T and B cells then mount an immune response.

NIH Announces Genetic Testing Registry

The National Institutes of Health announced today that it is creating a public database that researchers, consumers, health care providers, and others can search for information submitted voluntarily by genetic test providers. The Genetic Testing Registry (GTR) aims to enhance access to information about the availability, validity, and usefulness of genetic tests.

Currently, more than 1,600 genetic tests are available to patients and consumers, but there is no single public resource that provides detailed information about them. GTR is intended to fill that gap.

The overarching goal of the GTR is to advance the public health and research into the genetic basis of health and disease. As such, the registry will have several key functions:

  • Encourage providers of genetic tests to enhance transparency by publicly sharing information about the availability and utility of their tests
  • Provide an information resource for the public, including researchers, health care providers and patients, to locate laboratories that offer particular tests
  • Facilitate genomic data-sharing for research and new scientific discoveries

NIH Director Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D., said:

The need for this database reflects how far we have come in the last 10 years. The registry will help consumers and health care providers determine the best options for genetic testing, which is becoming more and more common and accessible. Our combined expertise in biomedical research and managing such large databases makes NIH the ideal home for the registry.

The GTR project will be overseen by the NIH Office of the Director. The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), part of the National Library of Medicine at NIH, will be responsible for developing the registry, which is expected to be available in 2011. GTR genetic test data will be integrated with information in other NIH/NCBI genetic, scientific, and medical databases to facilitate the research process. This integration will allow scientists to make, more easily and effectively, the kinds of connections that ultimately lead to discoveries and scientific advances.

During the development process, NIH will engage with stakeholders — such as genetic test developers, test kit manufacturers, health care providers, patients, and researchers — for their insights on the best way to collect and display test information. In addition, other federal agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, will be consulted.

More information about the Genetic Testing Registry and NCBI is available at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gtr/.

Source: NIH News