Essay on The Need to Treat Obsesity in the United States

Towards the end of his medical training in the early 1980s, Gokhan Hotamisligil was working on a unique tumor case on a patient and found they were comprised primarily of fat cells. The fatty tumors were due to a rare condition, Proteus Syndrome. Working in the field of metabolic regulation Hotamisligil began to explore the underlying pathways for insulin resistance. In his dissertation he discovered that the fat tissue of obese animals and humans were capable of producing inflammatory mediators. His research helped shape the current view of fat tissue as a “discrete, active organ in its own right, continuously exchanging messages with the rest of the body by way of the bloodstream.” By early 2002 Hotamisligil and his laboratory made

Although the mechanism of obesity development is not fully understood, it is confirmed that obesity occurs when energy intake exceeds energy expenditure. There are multiple etiologies for this imbalance, hence, and the rising prevalence of obesity cannot be addressed by a single etiology (Dehghan et al., 2005, p.

The assigned article of this week is about Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder titled Two-Way Mirror: Facing a Daughter’s O.C.D by Beth Boyle Machlan. To clarify the definition of OCD, there are two main features of the disorder: one is obsessions meaning “persistent and intrusive thoughts, ideas, impulses, or images”, another is compulsions which include “repetitive, purposeful, and intentional behaviors or mental acts that are performed in response to an obsession or according to rules that must be applied rigidly” (lecture). In the article, there is a girl named Lucy who may have OCD, and the article seems wrote by her mother. Lucy’s mom has been suffer from depression and bipolar, and Lucy has a history of Tic disorder (article). The story basically depicted in detail about Lucy’s first session with the doctor, Clark, regarding her OCD.

Imagine feeling like a slave in your own body. Being forced to do ridiculous rituals and having constant compulsions to do things that you know don’t make sense. This is what it is like to live with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). In the United States alone, over 2 million people suffer from OCD (Parks, 2011) but no one has found the cause of this disorder. It affects people of all races, genders and socioeconomic backgrounds (Parks, 2011). Since it’s discovery and modern conceptualization, there has been an ongoing debate whether OCD is caused by environmental factors or if it is inherited through genetics. However, since both sides of the debate raise a solid argument and there is not enough hard evidence, the source of the disorder

Obesity is defined as the excessive build-up of body fat that has major detrimental effects on an individual’s health (Caballero, 2007). The major cause of this excess accumulation of body fat is due to a positive energy balance i.e. when the input of energy into the body system exceeds the output of energy which in turn facilitates in weight gain (Caballero, 2007). Obesity is a major health issue in modern day society, firstly because it affects approximately 300 million people worldwide (Weight Management Centre and secondly, drastic alteration in the body’s fat intake also leads to the increasing prevalence of other major health conditions such as cardiovascular disease, stroke, non-insulin dependent diabetes and hypertension (WMC, 2010).

Obsessive-compulsive disorder, also known as OCD causes people to suffer in silence and secrecy and can destroy relationships and the ability to work. It may bring on shame, ridicule, anger, and intolerance from friends and family. Although it has been reported in children, it strikes most often during adolescence or young adult years. The illness can affect people in any income bracket, of any race, gender, or ethnic group and in any occupation. If people recognize the symptoms and seek treatment, OCD can be controlled.

I have always been fascinated with behavioral disorders, especially OCD. I learned about OCD a few years ago when I was reading a medical journal. At first, it seemed like something very odd. The idea that otherwise normal people can do such strange things, and not be able to control themselves was fascinating. I wanted to know more about this topic, which is why I chose to write my paper on it. I thought that by knowing more about the subject, I will be able to better understand how these people’s lives can be literally taken over by their constant worries and anxiety. Also, I think a lot of people exhibit these behaviors and aren’t even aware that they may have a severe problem, and more importantly, that they can be getting help to

Melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R) is a G protein–coupled receptor expressed in the brain’s hypothalamus where it regulates energy homeostasis. MC4R agonists function to lower food intake and weight. In this respect, while obesity promotes hyperlipidemia and hypothalamic injury, MC4R agonists are nevertheless more effective to reduce food intake within hours of administration in overweight, rather than lean, mice. MC4R undergoes constitutive internalization and recycling to the plasma membrane, with agonist binding inducing receptor retention along the intracellular route and, under prolonged exposure, desensitization. Here, we found that, in neuronal cells, lipid stress by exposure to elevated palmitate leaves unchanged the rate

Obsessive-compulsive disorder, or OCD, involves anxious thoughts or rituals one feels and can't control. . For many years, OCD was thought to be rare. The actual number of people with OCD was hidden, because people would hide their problem to avoid embarrassment. Some recent studies show that as many as 3 million Americans ages 18 to 54 may have OCD at any one time. This is about 2.3% of the people in this age group. It strikes men and women in approximately equal numbers and usually first appears in childhood, adolescence, or early adulthood. One-third of adults with OCD report having experienced their first symptoms as children. The course of the disease is variable. Symptoms may come

Obesity is known to produce a number of stress and inflammation responses in the body that lead to the activation of the inflammatory signalling molecules, Jun NH2-terminal kinase (JNK) and inhibitory kB kinase (IKK). Activation of these pathways plays a key part in the development of insulin resistance followed by progression to diabetes as they greatly affect inflammatory responses, insulin signalling, and lipid and glucose homeostatis (Nakamura et al. 2014). For example, activating the JNK pathway leads to serine phosphorylation of insulin receptor substrate (IRS) proteins which results in inhibited insulin signalling and thus insulin resistance. Double-stranded RNA-dependent protein kinase (PKR) has recently been shown to control the JNK and other major inflammatory pathways, to directly inhibit insulin signalling, to be activated by fatty acids as well as endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, and to be necessary for the activity of inflammasomes (Nakamura et al. 2010; Komiya et al. 2010; Lu et al. 2012). Moreover, PKR has been found to be highly activated in obese people as well as mice with genetically and diet-induced obesity, especially in adipose and hepatic tissues (Boden et al. 2008; Nakamura et al. 2010; Carvalho-Filho et al. 2012). Finally, recent studies have found that PKR knockout obese mice were protected against both IR and obesity-triggered inflammation and that administration of PKR inhibitors reduced JNK activation, reduced inflammation in adipose

Type I Interferon has emerged as a potential therapeutic option to combat obesity and its many negative health effects. Type I Interferon (IFN) signaling is canonical in the innate immune response, but less established is the role of type I IFNs in metabolism. At 2 weeks of high fat diet, mice experience an increase in interferon signaling in many metabolic tissues. Type I interferon activation attenuates mitochondrial function in certain tissues. Given the essential role of the mitochondria in cell metabolism and energy expenditure, the impairment of this organelle could be implicated in the development of obesity and weight gain. However targeting IFNAR receptors by thermogenic tissue have less clear reductions in weight gain and do not

AMPK is a heterotrimeric protein, comprised of catalytic α subunits (α1, α2), and β and γ regulatory subunits (β1, β2, γ1, γ2, γ3) (Hardie, 2007)). AMPK is activated by events that either compromise cellular ATP production or increase ATP consumption (Hardie, 2007; Long and Zierath, 2006). The glycogen-binding domain on β subunit also allows AMPK to act as a glycogen sensor (McBride et al., 2009; McBride and Hardie, 2009). AMPK elicits diverse effects on glucose and lipid metabolism, cell cycle, and protein synthesis. Activated AMPK stimulates catabolic pathways that generate ATP through increasing glucose and fatty acid uptake, enhancing glycolysis and fatty acid oxidation, and stimulating mitochondrial biogenesis. Concomitantly, AMPK activation inhibits the rate of anabolic pathways that consume ATP, thus, restores the correct adenylate energy charge (Hardie, 2011). AMPK activation inhibits glycogen and fatty acid synthesis by phosphorylates and inactivates glycogen synthase and Acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC), respectively (Hardie, 2007). In addition, AMPK inhibits protein synthesis and cell proliferation (Horman et al., 2002; Motoshima et al., 2006). In conditions where nutrients are limited, AMPK acts as a metabolic checkpoint inhibiting cell growth via suppression of mammalian target of rapamycin complex I (mTORC1) (Gowans et al., 2013).

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, also known as OCD, is a disorder that affects about two to three percent of the population (UOCD). Knowing what OCD is and who it affects is just step one in understanding the psychology of this disorder. The psychological symptoms of OCD can be quite varied which can make it difficult to diagnose. Understanding the therapy techniques and how people with OCD live their daily lives is one of the most vital part in the psychology of OCD. While the roots of the disorder may be complex, understanding the disorder in everyday life is quite simple.

Experimental approach: Mice metabolic rates, food intake, energy expenditure, locomotor activity, and respiratory quotients will be measured using the comprehensive laboratory animal monitoring system (CLAMS) chambers (Columbus Instruments, OH, USA) in collaboration with Dr. Nathan LeBrasseur as previously described [12]. We will also assess insulin resistance by measuring the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) [13] and performing glucose tolerance test on the mice. We will employ micro-CT to assess the relative contribution of visceral versus subcutaneous fat in body adiposity in the mice from the different experimental groups.

Cardiovascular diseases are the number one factor that can erupt from obesity due to the main causes that it brings, like high blood pressure, and LDL cholesterol to a high count while lowering HDL. LDL is the “bad cholesterol”, and HDL is the “good cholesterol”. We need fats in our body for energy or ATP, in our body. If we get more LDL, it can really be a dangerous case, and