Apoptosis in Weight Loss
Weight loss may restore health to people suffering from obesity, or it might indicate the presence of a serious illness. Some of these illnesses, such as cancer, can originate in a process called apoptosis, a kind of organized "cell suicide" that replaces old or damaged cells in the body with healthy new cells. Apoptosis may influence the weight loss seen in certain diseases. Scientists hope to isolate a method of using apoptosis to destroy fat cells as a possible new obesity treatment.
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Weight Loss and the Body
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Because obesity can lead to a host of serious health problems, the Mayo Clinic recommends weight loss for overweight people through a healthy combination of proper diet and regular exercise. Unfortunately, weight loss also indicates some unhealthy physical conditions and illnesses, including nerve problems, infections, kidney ailments, mental health difficulties, heart or lung conditions, gastrointestinal disease and cancer.
Apoptosis
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Some of the illnesses that cause weight loss involve a process known as apoptosis. MedicineNet.com defines apoptosis as the body's way of regulating cell death. Sometimes referred to as "cell suicide," apoptosis gets rid or old or unstable cells to make way for new ones. This replacement process occurs at a rate of up to one million cells every second. BioOncology.com names two types of triggers or pathways that induce apoptosis. The intrinsic pathway occurs with the cell as a response to cell damage, while in the extrinsic pathway, external signals activate receptors along the cell walls.
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Problems
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Apoptosis performs a necessary role in maintaining the status quo of cells in the body, so when its "programming" malfunctions, a variety of diseases can result, according to MedicineNet.com. If, for instance, too many old, unhealthy cells are allowed to continue living, the resulting overgrowth of unstable cells may take the form of cancer. If, on the other hand, apoptosis rages out of control and kills too many healthy cells, the resulting degeneration can cause Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease or a stroke.
Disease-Related Weight Loss and Apoptosis
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The medical community has linked certain types of disease-related weight loss to apopotosis. The American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine in 2002 reported a study of this phenomenon among people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, an illness that frequently includes weight loss as a side effect. Researchers in Spain found a correlation between lower body mass and increased apoptosis in the skeletal muscles.
Possible Weight Loss Applications
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As scientists gain a better understanding of the way apoptosis affects fats, they may discover new biological strategies for fighting the epidemic of obesity in modern society. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has posted a research proposal from South Dakota State University's College of Family & Consumer Science, describing how calcium may mediate signals to the apoptosis receptors that control fat cells. If medical science can learn how to selectively control apoptosis in fat cells, this knowledge could revolutionize the treatment of obesity and its related health problems.
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- Photo Credit Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of Umberto Salvagnin
