Reserchers uncovered that a slight imbalance in the BDNF gene’s constitution may influence the way our body store fat.
According to a new study published in the journal Cell Report, scientists link obesity to BDNF Gene. All over the United States, in the last 20 years, obesity has become a major health issue, contributing to the development of various disease such as heart disease, strokes and even diabetes. Further research takes into consideration all the genetic factors that can predispose a patient towards obesity.
The new study proposes a whole new approach to the issue. Scientists have discovered that a single variation in the gene for brain-derived neurotropic factor, or BDNF for short, may be capable of influencing how our body manages to store cell energy.
In physiological terms, our body relies on cells that are capable of breaking down food into valuable nutrients, further transforming them into energy. Cells are also capable of storing this energy. Traditionally speaking, obesity occurs when there are sudden changes or imbalances in the genes that are used to regulate these functions. The body tends to consume more nutrients and the cells respond by storing more fat.
Scientist link obesity to BDNF Gene as part of their study on how different approaches in obesity therapies affect certain individuals. According to the paper, the BDNF gene has very diverse functions throughout our body, but it plays a significant role in our brain. The BDNF gene stimulates the feeling of fullness. With the help of some brain tissue samples, researchers were able to analyze and isolate an area in the gene’s constitutions. It seems that if this particular area was to be alter by outside stimuli, the whole BDNF levels in the hypothalamus would be suddendly change.
Medical experts show that the hypothalamus is a small area in the brain that controls and regulates how we eat and how the body stores fat.
Basically, to wrap up the case and break it down to simple terms, the process the leads to obesity seems to be linked to a neurochemical or rather a neuroelectrical mechanism. If there is a slight mutation in this gene’s constitution, it will further impede the neurons to transmit appetite suppressing signal to a certain area in the brain.
Learning how a defective gene could trigger changes in the neurochemical balance will help both medical examiners and scientists to develop more targeted therapies for patients who suffers from chronic obesity and to stem the ever increasing tide of obesity incidence all over the United States.
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