Obesity

(iStock) Fatty liver, a reversible condition of fat accumulation in liver cells, can result from excessive alcohol consumption, obesity, type 2 diabetes, or metabolic disorders. Exercise can reverse this process, but the mechanisms underlying this effect are not clear. Because exercise is known to stimulate the action of glucagon (a… Read More

A new study indicates that patients with high-grade glioma brain tumors who have preexisting type 2 diabetes or obesity have poorer outcomes, and is the first to use the Vanderbilt Brain Tumor Center Clinical Database to report a novel clinical finding. Read More

New research about the link between body weight and mortality among Asians, which has not been studied in the past, finds being severely underweight poses a serious threat for this population and that preventing obesity is the top priority moving forward. Read More

(Photo credit: iStock photo) In the battle of the bulge, one important battalion is a set of brain cells expressing the melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R). Via signals from the fat-derived hormone leptin, these neurons regulate feeding behavior and fat metabolism in an attempt to regulate body weight. But how leptin influences… Read More

Bringing a new drug to market is an increasingly daunting – and expensive – task. Today it costs more than $1 billion and takes more than seven years, on average, to complete the human studies required for a drug to be approved for marketing. Only about one in five drugs… Read More

They come to this country – very often alone, with little education, and a lack of parenting skills. Doctors say Latino Americans are at a higher risk for obesity and diabetes and their children often have the highest rates of obesity and diabetes in the nation. Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital in… Read More