Diabetes/Obesity

Lancet Series on Bariatric Surgery Poses Question: Why Not Use It More?
There's a series of review articles on aspects of bariatric surgery in the Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology that you may find interesting.In an editorial introducing four reviews and additional commentary, the journal asks: if bariatric surgery is the most effective treatment for obesity, why isn't it being used more often? It's pointed out that a position statement from 1990 largely guides restrictive U.S. policies on bariatric surgery. Journal Watch

Tighter economic regulation needed to reverse obesity epidemic -- study
Governments could slow – and even reverse – the growing epidemic of obesity by taking measures to counter fast food consumption, according to a study published in the Bulletin of the World Health Organization today.

The study, by a team of researchers based in the United States and Ireland, is the first to look at the effects of deregulation in the economy, including the agricultural and food sectors, and the resulting increase in fast food transactions on obesity over time. It suggests that if governments take action, they can prevent overweight and obesity, which can have serious long-term health consequences including diabetes, heart disease, stroke and cancer. Eurekalert!

Intensive BP, Lipid Lowering Does Not Protect Against Cognitive Decline in Diabetics
Intensive treatment of blood pressure or cholesterol does not slow the rate of cognitive decline in adults with type 2 diabetes, according to a substudy of the ACCORD trial published in JAMA Internal Medicine. Journal Watch

Time is of the essence
New findings in mice suggest that merely changing meal times could have a significant effect on the levels of triglycerides in the liver. The results of this Weizmann Institute of Science study, recently published in Cell Metabolism, not only have important implications for the potential treatment of metabolic diseases, they may also have broader implications for most research areas in the life sciences. Weizmann Institute of Science 

Mutation leads to combined hyperlipidemia; genetic targeting may reverse it
Until now, very little has been known about the underlying mechanism of combined hyperlipidemia, and no single gene has been clearly linked to the disorder. The Yale researchers focused on the LRP6 gene and the effect of its mutation in mice. The mutation, which was first identified in humans with early onset coronary artery disease and combined hyperlipidemia, causes a cascade of events in diverse signaling pathways that results in abnormally elevated levels of LDL and triglycerides. MedicalXpress

Evidence that shivering and exercise may convert white fat to brown
A new study suggests that shivering and bouts of moderate exercise are equally capable of stimulating the conversion of energy-storing 'white fat' into energy-burning 'brown fat'. Around 50 g of white fat stores more than 300 kilocalories of energy. The same amount of brown fat could burn up to 300 kilocalories a day.

Dr Lee showed that during cold exposure and exercise, levels of the hormone irisin (produced by muscle) and FGF21 (produced by brown fat) rose. Specifically, around 10-15 minutes of shivering resulted in equivalent rises in irisin as an hour of moderate exercise. In the laboratory, irisin and FGF21 turn human white fat cells into brown fat cells over a period of six days. The study is now published in Cell Metabolism. MedicalXpress

Dietary counseling has little effect after gastric bypass
Dietary and behavioral counseling can help improve nutrient intake in patients who have had gastric bypass surgery, but nutrient intake still remains inadequate in many patients, according to a study published in the December issue of the Journal of Investigative Medicine. MedicalXpress