Fast Your Way To Fat Loss - Scientists Discover New Way Fat Harms Your Arteries
Thursday, (Health News) - Scientists may have found a way that obesity directly damages the arteries and contributes to heart disease - a discovery that they say they have led to new treatments .
British researchers have found that in patients with heart disease that are obese, body fat around the arteries tend to secrete high amounts of a protein called WNT5A. The protein, in turn, seems to have "toxic" effects within the blood vessels.
The discoveries, published in the September 18 issue of translation medicine science, are an initial step.
But they suggest that WNT5A is a good target for new drugs intended to treat or prevent heart disease, according to the leader's leader of Dr. Charalambos Antoniade.
"If we develop a treatment to 'disconnect' the production of wnt5a of fat cells, or block their effects on the wall [blood vessel], so we can be able to" neutralize "obesity and prevent heart attacks and accident Cerebral vascular, "said Antoniade, a professor of cardiovascular medicine at the University of Oxford.
Many studies have shown that obese people are at greater risk of developing heart disease compared to finer people. The American College of Cardiology (ACC) says that, in part, due to "indirect" reasons: obesity promotes conditions that can lead to heart problems - such as type 2 diabetes, high pressure and sleep apnea.
New discoveries, said Antoniades, cast the light on how obesity directly damages the blood vessels.
For the study, he and his colleagues analyzed blood samples and tissues of about 1,000 patients with heart disease that had suffered cardiac surgery. Overall, they discovered, obese patients had much higher WNT5A levels in his blood.
The protein was specifically released in large amounts of fat around the blood vessels, Antoniade said.
In addition, patients with higher levels of WNT5A tended to show a faster progression of the "board" accumulation in their arteries over the next three to five years. The plates are fat, calcium and other substances that obstruct the arteries and can trigger a heart attack or stroke.
These discoveries alone do not identify WNT5A as a culprit in causing heart disease. But the researchers found more direct evidence in the laboratory, according to Antoniades. It turns out that when blood vessel cells are exposed to protein, they produce more "toxic products" and insert a state that promotes the buildup of plates.
Two US cardiologists analyzed the results of the study."This protein is not only significantly high in obese patients but also exercises blood vessel injury," said Dr. Benjamin Hirsh, director of preventive cardiology at Heart Hospital Sandra Atlas Bass from Northwell Health Manhasset, New York
Hirsh said the "path" WNT5A is probably just a way in which it damages obesity blood vessels. He called the results of an "important step to improve our understanding of the specific mechanisms by which obesity is harmful."
Dr. Salim Virani is a Michael E. Debakey Voc Medical Center cardiologist in Houston and Head of the ACC Prevention Section and the Leadership Board.
Virani agreed that the understanding of the mechanisms that point to obesity and heart disease is important because it could lead to new and more targeted treatments. That said, no medication will replace a healthy lifestyle, he emphasized it.
"Diet and exercise will always come first," said Virani.
Even modest weight loss can benefit from the health of the heart, he pointed out. In addition, Virani added, obesity is also related to high risks of other conditions, including certain types of cancer. So pointing to a healthy weight will always be important.
No matter how much weight you lose, Virani said, a healthier lifestyle that includes regular exercise can boost your physical and mental well-being.
"Be obese and physically active is better than being obese and sedentary," he said.
The "biggest challenge", according to Hirsh, is persuading people to make healthier choices and avoid obesity first. But approaching this, he said, "will yield much larger benefits" than any medication can bring.
