Science Current Events | Science News | Brightsurf.com
 
Email a Friend Send to a friend
Printer Friendly Print Killer carbs -- Monash scientist finds the key to overeating as we age

Killer carbs -- Monash scientist finds the key to overeating as we age

August 21, 2008

A Monash University scientist has discovered key appetite control cells in the human brain degenerate over time, causing increased hunger and potentially weight-gain as we grow older.

The research by Dr Zane Andrews, a neuroendocrinologist with Monash University's Department of Physiology, has been published in Nature.




Dr Andrews found that appetite-suppressing cells are attacked by free radicals after eating and said the degeneration is more significant following meals rich in carbohydrates and sugars.

"The more carbs and sugars you eat, the more your appetite-control cells are damaged, and potentially you consume more," Dr Andrews said.

Dr Andrews said the attack on appetite suppressing cells creates a cellular imbalance between our need to eat and the message to the brain to stop eating.

"People in the age group of 25 to 50 are most at risk. The neurons that tell people in the crucial age range not to over-eat are being killed-off.

"When the stomach is empty, it triggers the ghrelin hormone that notifies the brain that we are hungry. When we are full, a set of neurons known as POMC's kick in.

"However, free radicals created naturally in the body attack the POMC neurons. This process causes the neurons to degenerate overtime, affecting our judgement as to when our hunger is satisfied," Dr Andrews said.

The free radicals also try to attack the hunger neurons, but these are protected by the uncoupling protein 2 (UCP2).

Dr Andrews said the reduction in the appetite-suppressing cells could be one explanation for the complex condition of adult-onset obesity.

"A diet rich in carbohydrate and sugar that has become more and more prevalent in modern societies over the last 20-30 years has placed so much strain on our bodies that it's leading to premature cell deterioration," Dr Andrews said.

Dr Andrews' next research project will focus on finding if a diet rich in carbohydrates and sugars has other impacts on the brain, such as the increased incidences of neurological conditions like Parkinson's disease.

Monash University



Related Free Radicals Current Events and Free Radicals News Articles Free Radicals Current Events and Free Radicals News RSS Free Radicals Current Events and Free Radicals News RSS
Can vitamins and minerals prevent hearing loss?
About 10 million people in the United States alone-from troops returning from war to students with music blasting through headphones-are suffering from impairing noise-induced hearing loss.

Vitamins E and C supplements not effective for prevention of cardiovascular disease in men
Neither vitamin E nor vitamin C supplements reduced the risk of major cardiovascular events in a large, long-term study of male physicians, according to a study in the November 12 issue of JAMA.

Brainy genes, not brawn, key to success on mussel beach
It's hard being a mussel: you have to worry about hungry starfish and even hungrier humans, not to mention an environment that can change your body temperature 50 degrees Fahrenheit in just a few hours.

Mouse studies suggest daily dose of ginkgo may prevent brain cell damage after a stroke
Working with genetically engineered mice, researchers at Johns Hopkins have shown that daily doses of a standardized extract from the leaves of the ginkgo tree can prevent or reduce brain damage after an induced stroke.

Why could prednisolone suppress the hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury?
Hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury is a serious complication but unavoidable problem in liver surgery including liver transplantation and hepatic resection.

Traits produced by melanin may signal the bearer's capacity to combat free radicals
Some animal species have developed conspicuous traits produced by melanin pigments (for instance, dark manes in lions, black stripes in some birds and fishes).

Vitamin C supplements may reduce benefit from wide range of anti-cancer drugs
In pre-clinical studies, vitamin C appears to substantially reduce the effectiveness of anticancer drugs, say researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

Cutting calories could limit muscle wasting in later years
Chemical concoctions can smooth over wrinkles and hide those pesky grays, but what about the signs of aging that aren't so easy to fix, such as losing muscle mass? Cutting calories early could help, say University of Florida researchers who studied the phenomenon in rats.

Nano-sized 'trojan horse' to aid nutrition
Researchers from Monash University have designed a nano-sized "trojan horse" particle to ensure healing antioxidants can be better absorbed by the human body.

Newly detected air pollutant mimics damaging effects of cigarette smoke
A previously unrecognized group of air pollutants could have effects remarkably similar to harmful substances found in tobacco smoke, Louisiana scientists are reporting in a study scheduled for presentation today at the 236th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society.
More Free Radicals Current Events and Free Radicals News Articles


Free Radical
by Michael Myette

Matthew Quinn, a gifted young medical researcher, stumbles upon a polymer with the ability to extend the life of his laboratory mice indefinitely. Unfortunately, its toxic side effects make it unsuitable for human use. As Quinn struggles to understand the problem with the drug's side effects, his mentor disappears and his funding is terminated. Shortly after making a breakthrough discovery that...



Free Radicals in Biology and Medicine
by Barry Halliwell, John Gutteridge

Free Radicals in Biology and Medicine has become a classic text in the field of free radical and antioxidant research since its first publication in 1985. This latest edition has been comprehensively rewritten and updated (over 80% of the text is new), while maintaining the clarity of its predecessor. There is expanded coverage of isoprostanes and related compounds, mechanisms of oxidative...



Free Radical
by Claire Rudolf Murphy

Luke McHenry loves baseball. After repeated disappointments, he is determined to make the All Star team. Then his mother makes an explosive confession: 31 years ago she was involved in an anti–Vietnam War protest that went horribly wrong, and a student was killed. Mom has been in hiding ever since, but now she is ready to turn herself in. While her whole life in Alaska has been a masquerade,...



The Antioxidants: The Amazing Nutrients That Fight Dangerous Free Radicals, Guard Against Cancer and Other Diseases-And Even Slow the Aging Process (Good Health Guides)
by Richard A. Passwater



Mortgage-Free!: Radical Strategies for Home Ownership (Real Goods Solar Living Book)
by Robert L. Roy

This is a banker's worst nightmare—a book that tells you how to live without being enslaved to financial institutions.Chelsea Green has produced a formidable series of books on innovative shelter. But every alternative building strategy, no matter how low-cost or environmentally benign, requires a complementary financial strategy. the accepted path is to go hat-in-hand to a big financial...



Free Radicals
by Matt Brinkman, Christopher Forgues, Josh Simmons, Fiona Smyth

Description: Free Radicals, a book of comics and drawings, is the product of the seminal Providence, Rhode Island Paper Rodeo group and its eponymous underground comics tabloid. The group, which has published 18 issues so far, was founded in 2000 by Mat Brinkman and Leif Goldberg of the art, music, and performance collectives Forcefield and Fort Thunder, among others. The work in Paper Rodeo is...

The Sex Radicals: Free Love in High Victorian America
by Hal D. Sears



An Introduction to Free-Radical Chemistry
by Andrew F. Parsons

The past twenty years has seen an explosion of interest in free radicals, as their pivotal role in both chemistry and biology has come to light. This introductory textbook aims to capture this excitement for advanced level undergraduates, with particular emphasis on the importance of radical reactions in organic synthesis. The book provides a gentle, stepwise introduction to the subject, taking...



Free Radicals: A Practical Approach (Practical Approach Series)

With the recognition that oxygen and nitrogen radicals are involved in normal cell metabolism, free radical research has begun to feature in most disciplines in the life sciences. Increasingly, their implication in a number of human disease processes is being accepted, altough conclusive evidence is lacking in many instances, partly due to the difficulties in detecting and measuring free radicals...



Advanced Free Radical Reactions for Organic Synthesis
by Hideo Togo

Free radical reactions have become increasingly important and a very attractive tool in organic synthesis in the last two decades, due to their powerful, selective, specific, and mild reaction abilities. Advanced Free Radical Reactions for Organic Synthesis reviews information on all types of practical radical reactions, e.g. cyclizations, additions, hydrogen-atom abstractions, decarboxylation...

© 2008 BrightSurf.com