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SUMMARY:Genetic\, molecular and physiological mechanisms involved in human
  obesity-lessons from animal models - Dr Sadaf Farooqi\, University of Cam
 bridge Metabolic Research Laboratories
DTSTART:20110216T163000Z
DTEND:20110216T173000Z
UID:TALK28478@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Suzy Blows
DESCRIPTION:Whilst the recent rise in the prevalence of obesity has been d
 riven by environmental factors\, there is considerable evidence from twin 
 and adoption studies that body weight and fat mass are highly heritable tr
 aits and differences in susceptibility to obesity have strong genetic dete
 rminants. The identification of patients with mutations in the gene encodi
 ng the hormone leptin\, and their successful treatment with recombinant hu
 man leptin\, have provided insights into the role of leptin responsive pat
 hways in the regulation of eating behaviour\, intermediary metabolism\, th
 e onset of puberty and T-cell mediated immunity. Leptin acts by regulating
  a complex network of brain responses that can be studied using functional
  imaging\, to co-ordinate changes in nutritional state with changes in foo
 d intake and the “liking” of food. A downstream target of leptin actio
 n\, the melanocortin 4 receptor (MC4R)\, plays a key role in modulating sy
 mpathetic nervous system mediated changes in blood pressure. Recently\, ge
 nome wide approaches are proving to be an increasingly important tool in u
 nderstanding the genetic heterogeneity associated with common obesity. The
  discovery of how genetic variation at an individual and at a population l
 evel contributes to weight gain will drive further understanding of the mo
 lecular pathways involved in energy homeostasis.
LOCATION:Lecture Theatre 1\, Department of Veterinary Medicine
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