A team of American researchers has for the first time observed the production of large quantities of melanin in fat tissues among extremely obese people undergoing weight loss surgery.
Melanin is a pigment that gives the skin, the hair, and the iris of the eye their natural colour.Ancha Baranova, an assistant professor in the Department of Molecular and Microbiology at George Mason University, claims that melanin production has never before been identified in fat tissue.
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“Stockpiling extra calories is difficult even for specialized fat cells; having too much lipid molecules takes its toll on the fat cells, producing oxidative stress,” she says.
“It’s not unthinkable that these cells would adapt and produce melanin as a form of self-protection. As a side benefit, melanin may suppress inflammatory properties of the extra pounds of the fat,” she adds.
Ancha agrees that a larger study is needed to confirm the role that the body’s production of this compound plays in fat tissue, but insists that her team’s two-year study suggests that melanin-based therapies may some day be used to reduce the incidence of chronic diseases among the morbidly obese.
“This opens an entirely new avenue for medical interventions because the process of biosynthesis of melanin is relatively easy to meddle with. We hope that this study will spur the development of preventive medications aimed at curtailing devastating metabolic complications in obese and overweight populations,” she says.
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Bariatric Surgery Cuts Cancer Risk by 80% in Obese Patients: Study
According to a new Canadian study morbidly obese patients who have surgery to reduce their stomach size could lower their risk of developing cancer by about 80 per cent.
According to a new Canadian study morbidly obese patients who have surgery to reduce their stomach size could lower their risk of developing cancer by about 80 per cent.
Source-ANI
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