Eating a high-fat diet may rapidly injure brain cells that control body weight

[axismundi]

Obesity among people who eat a high-fat diet may involve injury to neurons, or nerve cells, in a key part of the brain that controls body weight, according to the authors of a new animal study. The results will be presented Tuesday at The Endocrine Society's 93rd Annual Meeting in Boston.
"The possibility that brain injury may be a consequence of the overconsumption of a typical American diet offers a new explanation for why sustained weight loss is so difficult for most obese individuals to achieve," said presenting author Joshua Thaler, MD, PhD, a faculty member with the Diabetes and Obesity Center of Excellence at the University of Washington in Seattle.
Thaler and his colleagues studied the brains of rodents for the short-term and long-term effects of eating a high-fat diet. After giving groups of six to 10 rats and mice a high-fat diet for periods from one day to eight months, the researchers performed detailed biochemical, imaging and cell sorting analyses on the animals' brains.
Within the first three days of consuming a diet that had a similar fat content to the typical American diet, rats consumed nearly double their usual daily amount of calories, Thaler reported. Rats and mice fed the high-fat diet gained weight throughout the study. These rodents developed inflammation in the hypothalamus, the part of the brain containing neurons that control body weight. At the same time, a group of support cells called glia and scavenger cells called microglia accumulated in the hypothalamus and appeared to become activated. Although this collective response to brain inflammation—called gliosis—subsided days later, it recurred after four weeks

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[Hellawulf]

Woah! This seems really important to those of us doing CKD diets... Damn, do ya'll think that can happen to us?

 

[axismundi]

Woah! This seems really important to those of us doing CKD diets... Damn, do ya'll think that can happen to us?

Note, it said similar to the typica American diet... so not necessarily good fats. If the ratios of good to bad are off, which in the typical american diet they are to the tune of 20-40x... so I wouldn't worry too much about it unless all your meals are fried McMeals.

 

[Hellawulf]

I'm taking a biomedical physics class for my neuroscience minor which I start this next semester at college. My professor in that class is supposed to be finishing up his current research soon. This seems like something I'd love to do research in. I'll see if I can get him or someone in my department on board to sponsor me to get funding. (At work currently, I'll have to take a closer look at that article when I get home)