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SUMMARY:Human obesity: a heritable neurobehavioural disorder - Professor S
 teve O’Rahilly\, Department of Clinical Biochemistry\, Cambridge
DTSTART:20090930T133000Z
DTEND:20090930T140000Z
UID:TALK18699@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Hannah Critchlow
DESCRIPTION:This talk is part of the Cambridge Clinical Neuroscience and M
 ental Health Symposium\, 29th - 30th September 2009 at West Road Concert H
 all. This event is free to attend for cambridge neuroscientists although r
 egistration is required. To register\, and for further information\, pleas
 e visit: http://www.neuroscience.cam.ac.uk/cnmhs/\n\nAbstract: The recent 
 increase in the worldwide prevalence of obesity has understandably focused
  attention on the environmental determinants of this "epidemic". While ide
 ntifying the relative contributions of the factors underlying this recent 
 trend is critical\, a comprehensive understanding of the causes of obesity
  will need to explain why\, even in high risk populations\, many people re
 main lean. Contemporary studies indicate that the heritability of adiposit
 y remains high\, even in the face of a strongly obesogenic environment. Wh
 ile the role of inheritance has long been appreciated\, only recently have
  we begun to develop a genuine understanding of the critical role of speci
 fic molecules in sensing the state of nutrient storage and regulating food
  intake and energy expenditure. Notably\, a number of single gene disorder
 s resulting in human obesity have been uncovered and\, strikingly\, all of
  these defects impair the central control of food intake. Early indication
 s are that common genetic variants influencing adiposity on a population l
 evel impact on the same processes. While the rising prevalence of obesity 
 is related to increasing ease of access to high-energy palatable food comb
 ined with diminishing requirement for physical activity\, differences in i
 nter-individual susceptibility to obesity are likely to be related to inhe
 rited variation in the efficiency of central control mechanisms influencin
 g eating behaviour. Such a construct understandably courts unpopularity as
  it can appear to diminish the importance of human free will and is percei
 ved by some as representing a counsel of despair and an "excuse" for other
 wise controllable behaviour. We argue that a view of obesity that emphasis
 es the profound biological basis for inter-individual differences in respo
 nding to the challenges of achieving a healthy control of nutrient intake 
 should result in a more enlightened attitude to people with obesity with a
  consequent reduction in their experience of social and economic discrimin
 ation. In the longer term\, this may also lead to more efficacious\, indiv
 idually-targeted approaches to the treatment and prevention of obesity.\n\
 nBiography: Stephen O’Rahilly graduated in Medicine from University Coll
 ege Dublin in 1981.  From 1982 to 1991 he undertook postgraduate clinical 
 and research training in general medicine\, diabetes and endocrinology in 
 London\, Oxford and Harvard.  In 1991 he obtained a Wellcome Trust Senior 
 Clinical Fellowship and established his laboratory at the University of Ca
 mbridge at Addenbrooke’s Hospital.  In 1996 he was appointed to a newly 
 created Chair of Metabolic Medicine and in 2002 to the Chair of Clinical B
 iochemistry and Medicine at the University of Cambridge.  He is currently 
 Head of the University Department of Clinical Biochemistry.  His research 
 has been concerned with the elucidation of the basic causes of obesity and
  Type 2 diabetes at a molecular level.  His work has uncovered several pre
 viously unrecognised genetic causes of these diseases including some that 
 are amenable to specific treatment.  He has won many awards for his work i
 ncluding the Society for Endocrinology Medal\, the Graham Bull Prize of th
 e Royal College of Physicians of London\, the European Journal of Endocrin
 ology Prize\, the Novartis International Award for Clinical Research in Di
 abetes\, the Clinical Investigator Award of the Endocrine Society\, the He
 inrich Wieland Prize\, the Rolf Luft Award and the Feldberg Award. He was 
 elected to the Academy of Medical Sciences in 1999 and to the Royal Societ
 y in 2003.  He has a continuing commitment to clinical practice in endocri
 nology and diabetes and the teaching of clinical medical students.  He is 
 Service Centre Director of the NHS Clinical Biochemistry Department of Add
 enbrooke’s Hospital.  He has made important contributions to the develop
 ment of infrastructure for clinical research on the Addenbrooke’s campus
 .  He was the founding Director of Addenbrooke’s Hospital Wellcome Trust
  Clinical Research Facility (est. 2000) and led the University’s efforts
  to fund and establish the Institute of Metabolic Science (IMS).  This Ins
 titute opened in 2007 and is co-directed by O’Rahilly and Dr Nick Wareha
 m whose MRC Epidemiology Unit is located in the IMS.  He has contributed m
 ore generally to UK clinical science through his Chairmanship of the Wellc
 ome Trust Clinical Interest Group and service on the research committees o
 f several charities.  He is currently Chairman of the Medical Research Soc
 iety and of the MRC Translational Research Overview Group\, and a member o
 f the Council of the Society for Endocrinology.  
LOCATION:West Road Concert Hall
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