This article was written by Dr. Farooq Achmad for California Medical Weight Management.
Since the time health experts the world over identified obesity as a real global health issue and health icon like WHO declared it as 'one of the biggest health problems of the 21st century', researchers are striving hard finding out ways to contain the problem.
Having understood, to a great extent, the pathological processes underlying the obesity-induced diseases, currently the main focus of the research is to develop new and effective anti-obesity drugs. World is anxiously waiting for a break through. A recent news indicates like scientists have moved a step forward in this direction.
An article published in the journal of 'Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology' reports of a study recently conducted at the Institute of Molecular Bioscience at the University of Queensland, Australia. The principal investigator of the study David P. Fairlie Ph.D has found that there is an abnormally high amount of PAR2 in the abdominal fat tissue of overweight and obese humans and rats. PAR2 is a protein involved in the process of inflammation.
It might be mentioned here that it has already been proved through several studies that a low-grade-inflammation caused by obesity is the essential underlying process in the creation of almost all obesity- induced chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and infertility and so on.
In order to know what health benefits could be gained if we only block PAR2 from performing its action in the obese, the study investigators used a PAR2 antagonist molecule. When the antagonist substance was given to the rats fed on diet high in sugar and fat, it effectively blocked PAR2 and successfully inhibited adipose inflammation, insulin resistance, diet-induced obesity and cardiovascular abnormalities. This is the first report that a PAR2 antagonist can improve obesity and can subsequently prevent obesity-induced chronic diseases.
The discovery is expected to go a long way in developing a much-needed anti-obesity new drug.
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