 |
|
Weight loss after gastric bypass surgery may protect against infection and cancer
June 18, 2008Another health benefit of bariatric weight-loss surgery may be a heightened immune defense against cancer and infections, a new study suggests. The results will be presented at The Endocrine Society's 90th Annual Meeting in San Francisco.
"Obesity is related to a higher rate of infections and some types of cancer," said a study coauthor, Alfredo Halpern, PhD, of the University of São Paulo, Brazil. "Nevertheless, there are only a few published studies evaluating the immune function in severely obese patients and the effect of surgery-induced weight loss on these parameters."
Halpern and his co-workers therefore studied the effect of weight loss on immune function in 28 morbidly obese patients who had traditional "stomach-stapling" (Roux-en-Y) gastric bypass surgery. The 20 women and eight men lost an average of 78.5 pounds 6 months after gastric bypass. This operation permanently reduces the size of the stomach and bypasses part of the intestines, thus restricting food intake and food absorption.
Before and 6 months after the surgery, the researchers evaluated patients' blood samples for natural killer (NK) cells, which play a critical role in controlling infections and cancer. Specifically, they measured the number of NK cells and the cells' capacity to kill infected cells or tumor cells. They also looked at the production of certain cytokines, proteins that are essential to the immune response.
Although the number of NK cells did not increase with surgically induced weight loss, their activity changed, Halpern said. Before surgery, NK cells mounted a weak immune defense, but after surgery their activity increased by nearly 79 percent, representing an improvement in the effective immune response and, possibly, in the ability to fight cancer and infections.
The response of cytokines involved in NK cell activity also changed after weight loss, possibly affording higher protection against infection and cancer, the researchers found. Cytokines analyzed were interferon-gamma and interleukins 2, 12 and 18.
Prior studies have shown that bariatric surgery has many health benefits, including resolution of type 2 diabetes, improved blood pressure and lower risk of premature death. This study shows another possible benefit of the weight loss stemming from bariatric surgery.
"It may help protect against infections and cancer by improving the activity of certain immune cells," Halpern said.
He said the impaired NK cell function evident in extremely obese people may even explain their propensity to develop infections and cancer.
The Endocrine Society
Before and 6 months after the surgery, the researchers evaluated patients' blood samples for natural killer (NK) cells, which play a critical role in controlling infections and cancer. Specifically, they measured the number of NK cells and the cells' capacity to kill infected cells or tumor cells. They also looked at the production of certain cytokines, proteins that are essential to the immune response.
Although the number of NK cells did not increase with surgically induced weight loss, their activity changed, Halpern said. Before surgery, NK cells mounted a weak immune defense, but after surgery their activity increased by nearly 79 percent, representing an improvement in the effective immune response and, possibly, in the ability to fight cancer and infections.
The response of cytokines involved in NK cell activity also changed after weight loss, possibly affording higher protection against infection and cancer, the researchers found. Cytokines analyzed were interferon-gamma and interleukins 2, 12 and 18.
Prior studies have shown that bariatric surgery has many health benefits, including resolution of type 2 diabetes, improved blood pressure and lower risk of premature death. This study shows another possible benefit of the weight loss stemming from bariatric surgery.
"It may help protect against infections and cancer by improving the activity of certain immune cells," Halpern said.
He said the impaired NK cell function evident in extremely obese people may even explain their propensity to develop infections and cancer.
The Endocrine Society
Immune Defense Current Events and Immune Defense News RSSHodgkin lymphoma -- new characteristics discovered
Researchers are still discovering new characteristics of Hodgkin lymphoma, a common form of cancer of the lymphatic system. The malignant cells are derived from white blood cells (B cells), but have lost a considerable part of the B cell-specific gene expression pattern.
How flesh-eating bacteria attack the body's immune system
"Flesh-eating" or "Strep" bacteria are able to survive and spread in the body by degrading a key immune defense molecule, according to researchers at the University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine and Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.
Umbilical cord blood cell transplants may help ALS patients
A study at the University of South Florida has shown that transplants of mononuclear human umbilical cord blood (MNChUCB) cells may help patients suffering from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.
Immune system pathway identified to fight allergens, asthma
For the first time, researchers from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have identified genetic components of dendritic cells that are key to asthma and allergy-related immune response malfunction.
Breast cancers behave differently before and after the age of 70
Researchers in Belgium have discovered that increasing age affects the way breast cancer behaves. As women approach the age of 70, they become less likely to be diagnosed with aggressive tumours that have spread to the lymph nodes. But after 70, the cancer is increasingly likely to spread, particularly if the tumours are small.
Fruit flies show how salmonella escapes immune defenses
Salmonella are wily and obnoxious bacterial invaders--escape artists capable of evading multiple immune responses and causing a harsh and debilitating intestinal infection.
Customized treatments for sepsis lower treatment time and reduce length of ICU stays
Using a blood test and a decision algorithm, rather than standard hospital protocols, to determine the appropriate length of antibiotic therapy in patients with severe sepsis or septic shock can reduce duration of treatments, shorten ICU stays, and lower hospital costs- all without adverse effects on patients, according to new research.
Several genes that regulate the disease SLE have been identified
Swedish researchers, in collaboration with foreign colleagues, have identified a number of new genes that can be tied to the disease SLE, including a gene that hopefully might be used to treat the disease in the future by regulating the production of antibodies.
Factor key to severity of community-associated methicillin-resistant staph infections identified
Newly described proteins in drug-resistant strains of the Staphylococcus aureus bacterium attract and then destroy protective human white blood cells-a key process ensuring that S. aureus survives and causes severe disease.
Glue inside the cell: Ubiquitin builds up an immune response
Ubiquitin is a small protein, which can be attached to other cellular proteins, a process known as ubiquitination. Discoveries in the 1980 th on a key function of ubiquitination in the regulation of protein degradation where awarded with the Nobel Prize for chemistry in 2004.
More Immune Defense Current Events and Immune Defense News Articles
 | In Defense of Self: How the Immune System Really Works by William R. Clark We live in a sea of seething microbial predators, an infinity of invisible and invasive microorganisms capable of setting up shop inside us and sending us to an early grave. The only thing keeping them out? The immune system. William Clark's In Defense of Self offers a refreshingly accessible tour of the immune system, putting in layman's terms essential information that has been for too long... |
 | Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and the Body's Immune Defense System (Haworth Research Series on Malaise, Fatigue, and Debilitation) (Haworth Research Series on Malaise, Fatigue, and Debilitation) by Roberto Patarca Montero New evidence on the origins and treatment of chronic fatigue syndrome!Written by one of the leading experts in the field, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and the Body?s Immune Defense System presents vital new information on a crippling disorder that has the biomedical community searching for answers. Current research suggests CFS is associated with immune abnormalities that can potentially account for... |
 | Mucosal Immune Defense: Immunoglobulin A Immune responses at mucosal surfaces play a major role in host mucosal defense against microbial pathogens and in the pathogenesis of acute and chronic mucosal inflammatory diseases. This volume draws on a broad spectrum of molecular biologic, biochemical, and immunogenetic approaches in combination with human and murine in vitro cell culture and in vivo model systems to address questions in... |
| Invertebrate immune defense mechanisms; | |
 | Using an Inductive Learning Algorithm to Improve Antibody Generation in a Single Packet Computer Defense Immune System This is a AIR FORCE INST OF TECH WRIGHT-PATTERSON AFB OH SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING AND MANAGEMENT report procured by the Pentagon and made available for public release. It has been reproduced in the best form available to the Pentagon. It is not spiral-bound, but rather assembled with Velobinding in a soft, white linen cover. The Storming Media report number is A327704. The abstract provided by the... |
| Invertebrate Immune Defense Mechanisms by R. T. et al. Action | |
| Respiratory Immune Defense in Children: Current Knowledge and Possible Therapeutic Interventions (Journal : Respiration, Vol. 61, Supplement1, 1994) by Joseph A. Bellanti, J. P. Boissel | |
| Body Defenses: The Marvels and Mysteries of the Immune System by Marilyn Dunlop, Calvin Stiller | |
 | Healing Immune Disorders: Natural Defense-Building Solutions by Andrew Gaeddert Immune system disorders, from cancer and HIV to allergies and infections, are epidemic in contemporary society, and the numbers are rising. In Healing Immune Disorders, author Andrew Gaeddert offers hope for combating both simple and serious immune conditions using Chinese and Western herbs, supplements, diet, and lifestyle approaches. The author's straightforward instructions help sufferers... |
 | Heavy metal pollution disturbs immune response in wild ant populations [An article from: Environmental Pollution] by J. Sorvari, L.M. Rantala, M.J. Rantala, Hakkaraine This digital document is a journal article from Environmental Pollution, published by Elsevier in 2007. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.Description: Concern about the effects of environmental contaminants on immune function in both humans and wildlife is growing and... |
| © 2008 BrightSurf.com |