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Query: UMLS:C0028754 (obesity)
 124,988 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The excitotoxin, N-methyl-D-aspartic acid (NMDA), was used to lesion cell bodies, but not fibers-of-passage, in the paraventricular hypothalamus. Bilateral injections of NMDA (12.6 nmol/100 nl) were made into the paraventricular hypothalamus in halothane-anesthetized male Sprague-Dawley rats. Water intake, food intake, urine output and body weight were measured daily for 26 days after lesioning. Lesioned rats exhibited a modest, but significant, reduction in the rate of gain of body weight, which was most closely correlated with decreases in food intake. Water intake and urine output were not significantly different among the groups. Resting blood pressure, heart rate and baroreflex sensitivity (using the infusion of phenylephrine method) were similar in conscious animals of both groups, 4-5 weeks after lesioning. Neuronal loss, primarily of parvocellular elements, was evident in the paraventricular hypothalamus and neuronal loss frequently extended into the ventro-medial thalamus adjacent to the paraventricular hypothalamus in NMDA-lesioned rats. In a second experiment, injections of NMDA were given acutely into the paraventricular hypothalamus of halothane-anesthetized rats. Upon recovery from anesthesia, behavioral excitation and increases in blood pressure and heart rate were evident for 1-2 hr. Histological examination of hearts taken 48 hr after injection of NMDA revealed a largely mononuclear inflammatory infiltration, hyperemia and myocardial hemorrhage and focal myocardial necrosis. Inflammatory and degenerative changes were most prominent in the left ventricular subendocardium. The cardiomyopathy possessed similarities with catecholamine-induced myocardial necrosis. The results indicated that NMDA-induced lesions of parvocellular elements of the paraventricular hypothalamus did not cause hyperphagia or obesity or alter the resting systemic circulatory function. However, an inflammatory cardiomyopathy, termed "excitotoxin-induced myocardial necrosis", was associated with injections of NMDA into the hypothalamus. Excitotoxin-induced myocardial necrosis may complicate any hemodynamic studies performed in rats in which lesions of the CNS have been produced by means of application of excitotoxins.
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PMID:Excitotoxic lesions of the paraventricular hypothalamus: metabolic and cardiac effects. 220 Sep 75

The purpose of the present study was to test the validity of the electrical impedance method for estimation of total body water and lean body mass in adult Danes with large differences of obesity and fat distribution, and to develop algorithms for estimation of body water, lean body mass and fat from measurement of impedance. The results of the electrical impedance method were compared in 139 Danes aged 35-65 years, to those of a four-compartment-model based on measurements of both total body potassium (whole body counting) and total body water (dilutometry). The comparison confirmed the validity of the impedance method. Equations for predicting body water and lean body mass in Danes are given. A significant difference was found between two instruments of the same model. In spite of the fact that the test resistance supplied by the manufacturer gave identical measurements, measurements on humans diverged on average by 31 ohm. A cross-validation study showed that most of the algorithms found in the literature for predicting lean body mass from impedance yield reliable results.
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PMID:Prediction of body water and fat in adult Danes from measurement of electrical impedance. A validation study. 222 10

The lessons learned from developing countries which are applicable equally to developed countries include the recognition that poverty and social justice are an integral part of a health strategy, that disease prevention involved active participation of the population, that better cost effective measures are desirable, and that individual and community involvement need to be encouraged. Prior to 1940, health care strategy involved the doctor as the locus of care for curing disease. Thereafter, through the agenda of the WHO, there was a shift towards emphasis on community health, environmental sanitation, health education, and prevention; the goal was health for all. The 1978 WHO meeting in Alma-Ata set goals for the year 2000 as 1) health care users being actively involved in caring for themselves, 2) the implementation of cost effective strategies, 3) expanding the health team to other disciplines, and 4) achieving equity in services provided and outcomes. Primary health care approaches have successfully reduced infant and child mortality through immunization, clean water and sanitation efforts, breast feeding, household involvement in treatment of diarrhea, and monitoring growth and nutrition. The lesson to be learned from developed countries is that prevention is more cost effective than illness management, particularly with the availability of new expensive technologies. Education and other primary prevention efforts can be successful in reducing smoking, auto fatalities, environmental contamination, and AIDS. Health in the US: 50-100 years ago was similar to that in developing countries today, and the shift from infectious disease to chronic disease was not smooth. Countries like Mexico are already straining under the difficulties of both disease patterns, while Brazil's public resources spent on illness treatment have jumped from 36% in 1965 to 85% in 1982, or 6% of the GNP. This could easily expand to the US figure of 12% due to similar problems with injuries, heart and cerebrovascular disease, cancer, dietary patterns of high salt and fat intake inadequate exercise and obesity, and environmental risks.
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PMID:Prevention in developing countries. 223 Oct 55

The assessment of energy expenditure in free-living subjects is central to a complete understanding of the etiology of obesity, malnutrition, coronary heart disease, and osteoporosis. Laboratory-based methods that rate high with respect to validity and reliability do not lend themselves to this task because they are restrictive, expensive, or both. Investigators have therefore developed survey methods, physiological markers, and mechanical or electrical monitors for use in the field. The development of the doubly labeled water method for measuring energy expenditure and increased availability of room indirect calorimeters has recently made it possible to evaluate these field techniques. Some of the recently developed mechanical and electrical monitors have been found to be valid for the measurement of energy expenditure, but even the best provide measures that are too variable to be useful on an individual basis.
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PMID:A review of field techniques for the assessment of energy expenditure. 224 94

We analyzed retrospectively data from 148 chow-fed male Wistar rats killed between the age of 6 wk and 2 yr while varying in body weight from 136 to 917 g. The purpose of this study was to clarify the relationship of body weight and body lipid content with the composition and cellularity of the epididymal and retroperitoneal fat depots. A positive linear association was found between body weight and body water or fat-free dry residue, whereas total body lipid exhibited a curvilinear relationship with body weight. The weight of the epididymal pads was linearly related to body weight but not to body lipid. In contrast, retroperitoneal pad weight was exponentially related to body weight and paralleled total body lipid. A strong linear correlation was found between total body lipid and weight (r = 0.959) or depot lipid content (r = 0.967) of the retroperitoneal fat pads. In this rat model of aging and spontaneous obesity, significant regional differences exist in adipose depot composition and cellularity. A practical outcome of this study is a simple and accurate prediction of body lipid content from the gravimetric determination of the retroperitoneal fat depots.
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PMID:Model of spontaneous obesity in aging male Wistar rats. 226 Jul 22

The characteristics of the echo structure constitute an important criterion for the appraisal of sonograms. Since every pixel usually represents one out of 64 gray values, it should be possible to use the density as an objective parameter of the echo structure. In this study, the echogenicity of the pancreas was examined. The density of the pancreas became higher with increasing accumulation of fatty connective tissue or as a result of air in the intestine. In 42 people with varying degrees of obesity, the echo structure was compared with the gray scale distribution of the lumen of the gallbladder, aorta and the water-filled stomach. The results indicated that the increasing echodensity is attributable to reflections and scatter of the ultrasound in adjacent regions. The presence of air gave rise to the same effect. On the basis of standardized investigations at 15-minute intervals, the density and the visual index under the influence of a quick-acting simethicone preparation (Lefax) were compared. The density also decreased significantly within 30 to 45 minutes parallel to the reduction of superimpositional interferences due to air. The present investigations confirm the relevance of gray scale analysis for objective confirmation of sonographic structures. However, they make it evident that the echo pattern is quantifiable only under standardized conditions and when the projection plane is largely occupied. Misleading mixed values are measured in marginal zones and in superimpositions.
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PMID:[Value of gray scale analysis for the assessment of ultrasound detected structures in the area of the abdomen]. 227 8

The effects of feeding a low-protein diet (5 percent w/w) and daily exercise on the rates of substrate (futile) cycling between triglyceride and fatty acids (TG-FA cycle) were studied in rats in vivo using a radiochemical assay that involves following the incorporation of tritium from 3H-H2O into the fatty acid and glycerol moieties of triglyceride. Sixty-four rats were fed either a purified control diet (COND) consisting of 70 percent carbohydrate, 20 percent protein, 5 percent fat or an experimental low protein (LPD) diet consisting of 80 percent carbohydrate, 5 percent protein and 10 percent fat (w/w) and were either exercised six days weekly or remained sedentary for six weeks. Both LPD and exercise training (EXT) were found to increase significantly the rate of TG-FA substrate cycling above the rates observed in dietary and sedentary control groups. The LPD increased significantly the rate of cycling in interscapular brown adipose (IBAT), while adipose (WAT) and diaphragm muscle. EXT increased the rates of substrate cycling in soleus, heart, and diaphragm muscle and WAT. Rate of cycling in cardiac or skeletal muscle was one-twentieth that found in adipose tissue. There were also sex differences in the rate of substrate cycling. Substrate cycling in soleus and heart muscle of male animals were consistently higher than respective female treatment groups. Sedentary and EXT LPD animals weighed significantly less than but consumed a similar amount of food to the respective COND animals. These data provide the first in vivo evidence that the rate of substrate cycling can be increased by diet or by exercise training. The possible importance of TG-FA and other substrate cycles on efficiency of energy metabolism and etiology of obesity are discussed.
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PMID:Effects of diet and exercise on the in vivo rates of the triglyceride-fatty acid cycle in adipose tissue and muscle of the rat. 227 57

The changes in total fat mass (TFM) and lean body mass (LBM) under semistarvation treatment were measured by dual-photon absorptiometry (DPA) in this study. Three females with massive obesity were followed over two periods consuming a very-low-calorie diet (VLCD). Although LBM changes attributed to water shifts related to sodium balance were observed, DPA proved sensitive enough to measure LBM and TFM changes in semistarvation treatment. LBM measured by DPA did not change significantly following 4 weeks of VLCD. However, TFM decreased significantly (70.9 +/0 24.1 kg to 62.4 +/- 21.7 kg) and paralleled body weight.
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PMID:Measurement of composition changes using dual-photon absorptiometry in obese patients undergoing semistarvation. 230 20

We measured body composition, basal metabolic rate (BMR), and total energy expenditure in 28 nonobese and 35 obese adolescents aged 12-18 y using indirect calorimetry and the doubly labeled water method. BMR was highly correlated with fat-free mass in both the nonobese and obese groups (r = 0.77 and 0.84, respectively). BMR adjusted for fat-free mass was significantly greater in males than females and in the obese subjects. Total energy expenditure was significantly greater in the obese than nonobese cohort but ratios of total energy expenditure/BMR were not significantly different in the two groups (1.79 +/- 0.2 versus 1.68 +/- 0.19, nonobese and obese males and 1.69 +/- 0.28 versus 1.74 +/- 0.19 nonobese and obese females, respectively). These data indicate that BMR and total energy expenditure are not reduced in the already obese adolescent. Therefore, reduced energy expenditure cannot be responsible for the maintenance of obesity in adolescents.
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PMID:Energy expenditure in obese and nonobese adolescents. 231 50

The hyperphagic and weight-promoting effects of feeding rats a sugar-fat mixture were compared to those of presenting only one of the two nutrients. Experimental groups were fed sugar (sucrose), fat (corn oil), or a sugar-fat mixture as an option to chow; options were in the form of water solutions or emulsions. The control group was fed only chow. The sugar-fat group displayed a robust hyperphagia (greater than 36%), relative to the control group; the hyperphagic response was greater than that observed in the fat group but not in the sugar group. The sugar-fat group selected more calories from the option than the other two experimental groups. Body weight gains were also greater in the sugar-fat group than in the fat and sugar groups. Addition of saccharin to the fat emulsion increased fat and total intakes to levels close to those of the sugar-fat mixture. In a second experiment, the relative palatability of the plain and sweet fat emulsions was assessed with two-bottle preference tests. The sugar-fat mixture was preferred to the saccharin-fat mixture, which in turn was preferred to the plain-fat emulsion. These results suggest that the sweetness of the sugar-fat mixture contributed to the pronounced hyperphagia and obesity obtained with this diet option.
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PMID:Hyperphagia in rats produced by a mixture of fat and sugar. 232 45


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