lets try this again! I swear I am not blonde!

[Guest guest]

Once again I will try and fwd this... Its just and FYI... I dont support

or condone its merits or demerits.

Joannie

Irving, Tx.

> Experiments Suggest 'Fat Virus'

>

> By MATT CRENSON

> .c The Associated Press

>

> (July 27) - A cold-like virus may cause obesity, new

> experiments suggest.

>

> Researchers at the University of Wisconsin in Madison

> have found that mice

> and chickens infected with a common human virus put on

> much more fat than

> uninfected animals. They have also discovered that the

> same virus is more

> prevalent among overweight people, a strong indication

> that it may also cause

> obesity in humans.

>

> In four experiments, the Wisconsin researchers

> inoculated chickens and mice

> with adenovirus-36, a member of a viral family that

> includes about 50

> strains. Most adenoviruses cause colds, diarrhea or

> pinkeye.

>

> After several months, animals infected with

> adenovirus-36 weighed only 7

> percent more on average than those without the virus,

> but their bodies

> contained more than twice as much fat.

>

> ''This is the first human virus that has been shown to

> cause obesity in

> animals,'' said Nikhil Dhurandhar, one of the study's

> authors.

>

> It is also the first virus the researchers looked at,

> raising the possibility

> that other human viruses may also cause obesity.

> Dhurandhar and his

> colleagues picked adenovirus-36 simply because little is

> known about it and

> the strain is relatively easy to work with.

>

> Their study is being published in the August issue of

> the International

> Journal of Obesity.

>

> ''It raises a host of very interesting questions,'' said

> Foreyt, an

> obesity expert at Baylor College of Medicine. ''If it

> really does play a

> role, I think it's a real breakthrough.''

>

> The latest results do not indicate that all obesity is

> caused by viruses,

> Foreyt said. But they strongly suggest that infection

> plays an important role.

>

> ''There's just so much more we need to do on this before

> we can say anything

> definitive,'' said Atkinson, a University of

> Wisconsin professor and

> author of the study.

>

> Unpublished studies in humans show that 20 to 30 percent

> of overweight people

> are infected with adenovirus-36, compared to about 5

> percent of the lean

> population.

>

> Experts are not completely surprised by the Wisconsin

> group's results. In the

> last few years, they have found signs that many chronic

> health conditions are

> caused by infections. Three different microbes are

> thought to contribute to

> clogged arteries. Long thought to be a product of high

> stress and a poor

> diet, ulcers are now known to be caused by the bacterium

> Helicobacter pylori.

>

> In addition, several animal viruses are already known to

> cause obesity in

> both animals and humans. But adenovirus-36 is the first

> human virus known to

> cause an increase in fat.

>

> Researchers do not know yet how adenovirus-36 causes

> obesity. Infected

> animals did not eat more than uninfected ones,

> suggesting that the virus

> decreases energy expenditure rather than increasing

> appetite.

>

> ''I feel that it increases the number of fat cells,

> which encourages them to

> store more fat,'' said Dhurandhar, who recently joined

> Wayne State University

> in Detroit.

>

> The animal obesity viruses appear to work differently

> from adenovirus-36, by

> damaging the part of the brain that controls appetite.

> The Wisconsin

> researchers saw no brain damage in chickens and mice

> infected with

> adenovirus-36.

>

> Aside from a day or two of cold-like symptoms, Atkinson

> said, the virus

> produced no observable effects besides obesity.

>

> Paradoxically, animals infected with the virus also had

> decreased levels of

> cholesterol and triglycerides in their blood. Generally,

> obesity is

> associated with high cholesterol and triglyceride

> levels.

>

> Far more research is needed before any practical

> benefits can be reaped from

> this research, Atkinson said. It is still too early to

> know whether it may be

> possible to develop an effective vaccine against obesity

> or otherwise

> counteract the effects of the virus.

>

> AP-NY-07-27-00 1900EDT

>

> Copyright 2000 The Associated Press. The information

> contained in the AP news

> report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or

> otherwise distributed

> without the prior written authority of The Associated

> Press. All active

> hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

>

>

>

>