Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Brown And Beige Adipocytes: Effects Of Inflammation And Nutritional Intervention, Jiyoung Bae

Doctoral Dissertations

Recent findings of brown adipocytes and brown-like or beige adipocytes, capable of dissipating energy as heat, in adult humans have promised new hope for obesity treatment and prevention. Understanding of the regulation of brown and beige adipocytes will provide novel strategies to reach the goal. Pattern recognition receptors (PRR) are responsible for inflammation in adipose tissue, which leads to adipose dysfunction and obesity associated chronic diseases. It has been shown that PRR activation induces inflammation, leading to insulin resistance in white adipocytes and white adipose tissue (WAT). However, the roles of PRR activation in brown adipocytes and brown adipose tissue …

Should Primary Care Physicians Address Sleep To Improve Weight Loss In Obese Patients? A Clin-Iq, Kjersti E. Knox

Journal of Patient-Centered Research and Reviews

Obesity is a commonly encountered problem in the primary care setting. Simultaneously, sleep is seen to hold an increasingly important role in many components of health and wellness. A review of the literature was performed to determine if improving sleep positively impacts weight loss in obese adults. The evidence reviewed suggests that improving patients’ sleep may initially improve patient weight loss; however, current studies do not show a sustained statistically significant impact. Until higher powered and higher quality studies are completed, there are no clear evidence-based guidelines for primary care physicians to follow regarding sleep and obesity.

A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial Of Adjunctive Metformin Therapy In Overweight/Obese Youth With Type 1 Diabetes, Benjamin U. Nwosu, Louise Maranda, Karen Cullen, Lisa Greenman, Jody Fleshman, Nancy Mcshea, Bruce A. Barton, Mary M. Lee

Benjamin U. Nwosu

CONTEXT: Insulin resistance has been proposed as one of the causes of poor glycemic control in overweight/obese youth with type 1 diabetes (T1D). However, the role of adjunctive metformin, an insulin sensitizer, on glycemic control in these patients is unclear.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the effect of metformin vs. placebo on hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), total daily dose (TDD) of insulin, and other parameters in overweight/obese youth with T1D.

HYPOTHESIS: Adjunctive metformin therapy will improve glycemic control in overweight/obese youth with T1D.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: A 9-mo randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled trial of metformin and placebo in 28 subjects (13m/15f) of …

Obesity Early In Adulthood Increases Risk But Does Not Affect Outcomes Of Hepatocellular Carcinoma, Manal M. Hassan, Reham Abdel-Wahab, Ahmed Kaseb, Ahmed Shalaby, Alexandria Phan, Hashem El-Serag, Ernest Hawk, Jeff Morris, Kanwal Pratap Singh Raghav, Ju-Seog Lee, Jean-Nicolas Vauthey, Gehan Bortus, Harrys Torres, Christopher Amos, Robert Wolff, Donghui Li

Dartmouth Scholarship

Despite the significant association between obesity and several cancers, it has been difficult to establish an association between obesity and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Patients with HCC often have ascites, making it a challenge to accurately determine body mass index (BMI), and many factors contribute to the development of HCC. We performed a case–control study to investigate whether obesity early in adulthood affects risk, age of onset, or outcomes of patients with HCC.

Assessment Of Obesity As A Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factor In A Geriatric Rural Texas Community - A Six Month Follow-Up, Alberto Coustasse Md, Mba

Alberto Coustasse, DrPH, MD, MBA, MPH

Coustasse, Alberto, Assessment of Obesity as a Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factor in a Geriatric Rural Texas Community – A Six Month Follow-up. Master of Public Health Track, Public Health Administration, December 1999, 22 pp., 9 tables, 9 illustrations, bibliography, 7 titles. The health fair approach was used as a method to establish individual and population health status baselines and to provide a mechanism to follow-up with an elderly population in a rural Texas community. A controlled trial sample of forty-four seniors was initially screened in a primary care clinic in August 1998. Patients were reevaluated at six months and results …

Maternal Obesity And Incidence Of Depression, Caroline A. Habjan

Honors Capstone Projects - All

Obesity is a national epidemic in the United States, which both directly and indirectly affects the social productivity of individuals, the American macro economy and individuals’ personal health and well being. Depression often interferes with an individual’s ability to work, sleep, study, eat, and enjoy life. A maternal state of both obesity and depression may cause serious adverse medical conditions in the mother’s child. Taking steps to treat depression and obesity are critical in the construct of modern medicine. This project yields results that have the potential to make treatment options better tailored, more efficient, effective and economically-sound for the …

The Mechanisms Of Weight Gain In Sleep-Deprived Individuals, Chaya Rosen

The Science Journal of the Lander College of Arts and Sciences

The obese population in America has grown during the last century. During these years as well, American’s have been sleeping less. Cross sectional studies show that there is a correlation of the two factors, and indeed find a greater number of overweight individuals amongst the sleep-deprived population. Though they are unclear, studies attempt to establish possible mechanisms through which weight gain occurs. Results of studies show that sleep deprivation may influence leptin and ghrelin levels, which can cause hunger, and excessive caloric intake. Sleep-deprived individuals also have an increased opportunity to eat during the wakeful nighttime hours. In the sleep-restricted …

Regulation Of Ghrelin: A Possible Treatment Option For Obesity And Diabetes, Sarah Picciotto

The Science Journal of the Lander College of Arts and Sciences

Obesity is a mounting problem in America today. One major concern about obesity is that it is a risk factor for type 2 diabetes, a disease that impairs insulin sensitivity and secretion. This interferes with blood glucose levels and can cause hyperglycemia, which is when there is too much circulating glucose in the blood. Ghrelin, an amino acid peptide responsible for appetite stimulation and energy balance, plays a direct role in insulin secretion and glucose metabolism. In many experiments, elevated ghrelin levels are associated with decreased insulin secretion from pancreatic islet cells. Although ghrelin concentration is decreased in obese individuals …

Examining The Relationship Between Type And Extent Of After-School Care Use And High Bmi In Children Ages 5-17, Morgan E.B. Chojnacki

DNP Projects

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and after-school care use in school age children and adolescents in Kentucky. The specific aims of this study were to examine differences in BMI groups (high versus normal/low) by: a) type and b) extent of after-school care use.

Methods: Parents of children age 5-17 years were administered a 21-item survey which assessed the amount of time their children spent in specific types of after-school care. BMI of the child/adolescent participants were obtained at the time of the survey. High BMI was defined …

Potential Role Of Protein Kinase Cbeta In High Fat Diet-Induced Adipose Dysfunction By Regulating Autophagy Levels, Neil Mehta

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Obesity is the most common nutritional disorder in the United States and worldwide. Public health efforts and other anti-obesity measures clearly have not controlled the obesity epidemic. There is a great need to understand the pathogenic mechanisms underlying fat accumulation. Research of the past decade supports a prominent role for diet-induced adipose tissue dysfunction in the development and/or progression of obesity and associated insulin resistance. Potential mechanisms for the development of adipose tissue dysfunction include ectopic (visceral) fat accumulation, genetic factors, and alterations in autophagy and inflammatory processes. However, the molecular mechanisms linking dietary fat intake with alterations in adipose …

Regulation Of Pancreatic Β-Cell Function By The Renin-Angiotensin System In Type 2 Diabetes, Robin C. Shoemaker

Theses and Dissertations--Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences

Diet-induced obesity promotes type 2 diabetes (T2D). Drugs that inhibit the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) have been demonstrated in clinical trials to decrease the onset of T2D. Previously, we demonstrated that mice made obese from chronic consumption of a high-fat (HF) diet have marked elevations in systemic concentrations of angiotensin II (AngII). Pancreatic islets have been reported to possess components of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS), including angiotensin type 1a receptors (AT1aR), the primary receptor for AngII, and angiotensin converting-enzyme 2 (ACE2), which negatively regulates the RAS by catabolizing AngII to angiotensin-(1-7) (Ang-(1-7)). These two opposing proteins have been implicated in the …