Fat on Fire 2
Research type
Research Study
Full title
THE IMPACT OF OBESITY AND TYPE 2 DIABETES ON INFLAMMATION AND HEALTH
IRAS ID
204500
Contact name
Alanoud Aladel
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Warwick
Duration of Study in the UK
5 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
We are now beginning to understand that inflammation appears to significantly contribute to people developing diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and fatty liver disease. We understand the factors released from fat increase the inflammation, as such people with obesity have an increased risk of developing diabetes, fatty liver disease and cardiovascular disease. However we are unclear what may act as the factors that cause the fat to produce an inflammatory response which can act on other tissues and systems and how this may effect the health of the patient.
Our work within the team has begun to show that bacterial fragments derived from the gut, referred to as endotoxin, can enter the circulation. These fragments are usually removed by the liver and good circulating fats but in people with diabetes and similar disorders this appears to fail, and the bacterial fragments appear to activate fat to produce an inflammatory response. We also understand that low levels of micronutrients such as Vitamin B12 can also impact on inflammatory processes.
Currently we are still unclear on how bacterial fragments, and micronutrients that circulate in the blood act on different tissues including muscle and fat to cause differing inflammatory responses. Bariatric surgery has been shown to reduce inflammation at 1 year as measured by endotoxin and highly sensitive CRP, yet this surgery has a major impact on micronutrients and gut flora, therefore we wish to measure the levels of pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory factors including current or novel biomarkers pre and post surgery and how adipose tissue changes, contributes to metabolic recovery.REC name
West Midlands - Solihull Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
17/WM/0005
Date of REC Opinion
16 Feb 2017
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion