Health Care Blog

The enzyme, MGAT2, determines whether dietary fat is used to generate energy or stored under the skin around the waist. The discovery of its role could be the key to preventing obesity, diabetes and heart disease Scientists found that mice missing the gene for MGAT2 were able to feast on a high fat diet without becoming flabby or overweight. Mice lacking MGAT2 were also protected against glucose intolerance - a precursor to diabetes - high cholesterol and a build up of fat in liver cells. Enzymes are biological catalysts that are essential for numerous biological functions MGAT2 is one of three MGAT enzymes found in the intestines of both mice and humans. Cutting MGAT activity with drugs could be another way to combat obesity, the scientists believe. Dr Robert Farese, from the University of California at San Francisco, and colleagues, reduced MGAT activity in mice by more than half by knocking out MGAT2. On a low fat diet, the mice developed in just the same way as normal animals. But ...

Writing in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, a group of researchers found that nutrient deprivation of neurons produced sex-dependent effects. Male neurons more readily withered up and died, while female neurons did their best to conserve energy and stay alive. That's right, nature has declared female brains should survive with a lot less than males. Take that, glass ceiling! The idea that the sexes respond differently to nutrient depravation is not new and revolves around the male preferences to conserve protein and female preferences to conserve fat. However, these metabolic differences have really only been examined in nutrient-rich tissues like muscles, fat deposits, and the liver. Robert Clark and colleagues at the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of University of Pittsburgh Medical Center examined whether this sex-dependent response in starvation could manifest in brain cells. They grew neurons taken separately from male and female rats or mice in lab dishes and subje...

The alarm that tells if you Are Going To Have Heart Attack A device implanted in the chest that can warn when someone is about to have a heart attack, is being trialled in the U.S.The matchbox-sized gadget vibrates gently when it detects changes in the heart's electrical patterns that signal a heart attack is about to strike. It also sends a message to a pager carried by the patient, which beeps to make sure they are aware of the danger. The revolutionary implant, called the AngelMed Guardian, could alert patients several hours, or even days, before they fall ill, giving them time to seek emergency help and saving lives in the process. It is undergoing trials in America, but has already been approved for use in some parts of the world, such as Brazil. It's hoped the device will reduce the death toll from heart disease. Every year, around 270,000 people in Britain suffer a heart attack, and coronary disease remains Britain's biggest killer. About a third of sufferers die bef...