my life blog 12

NAFLD is a major health concern, because it can lead to permanent scarring (cirrhosis) and subsequently to cancer and malfunction of the liver.1 This may result in life-threatening complications for which a liver transplant is needed. Additionally, NAFLD also contributes to an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases such as diabetes mellitus and atherosclerosis. NAFLD is diagnosed when accumulation of fat in the organ exceeds 5% of hepatocytes (the cells that make up the majority of the liver). It is estimated that approximately 1 billion people worldwide may have NAFLD with a prevalence of 20-30% in Western countries. It parallels one of world's most rapidly growing health concerns, obesity, which is also one of the most important risk factors in NAFLD. In its early stages NAFLD can be treated through diet and lifestyle changes, such as weight loss, but it can progress to more serious liver diseases. However, there is still a lot of debate whether weight loss alone is enough t...

Using cells from mice and human livers, Toronto General Hospital Research Institute researchers demonstrated for the first time how under specific conditions, such as obesity, liver CD8+ T cells, white blood cells which play an important role in the control of viral infections, become highly activated and inflammatory, reprogramming themselves into disease-driving cells. Scientists have been trying for many years to discover why the liver continues to pump out too much glucose in people with diabetes. This paper sheds light on the markers of activation and inflammation in CD8+ T cells and the Interferon-1 pathway which helps stimulate their function. The research is entitled, "Type 1 Interferon Responses Drive Intrahepatic T cells to Promote Metabolic Syndrome," by first authors Magar Ghazarian, a former graduate student, Dr. Xavier Revelo, a post-doctoral fellow in the lab of Dr. Daniel Winer, and senior authors Dr. Shawn Winer, Laboratory Medicine, St. Michael's ...

Silvia Berciano, a predoctoral fellow at the Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, will present the new findings at the American Society for Nutrition Scientific Sessions and annual meeting during the Experimental Biology 2017 meeting, to be held April 22-26 in Chicago. "Most people have a hard time modifying their dietary habits, even if they know it is in their best interest," said Berciano. "This is because our food preferences and ability to work toward goals or follow plans affect what we eat and our ability to stick with diet changes. Ours is the first study describing how brain genes affect food intake and dietary preferences in a group of healthy people." Although previous research has identified genes involved with behaviors seen in eating disorders such as anorexia or bulimia, little is known about how natural variation in these genes could affect eating behaviors in healthy people. Gene variation is a result of subtle DNA differences among individuals ...