Obesity And Inflammation Flashcards
What is inflammation?
A physiological response to restore homeostasis and repair tissue altered by some insult.
What is acute inflammation?
- short lasting inflammation
- involves influx of proteins, fluid and cells from local blood vessels π©Έ into the damaged area to mediate local defences
What are the local defences that acute inflammation mediates in response to local trauma?
πͺ removal and killing of infective agents π¦
ποΈ breakdown and removal of the damaged tissues
Give an example of an acute inflammatory response?
Sore throat π€’
Burn π₯
Insect bites π
In some cases ,acute inflammation will turn into chronic inflammation, what is chronic inflammation?
Long lasting inflammation π°οΈ it involves an established or an excessive inflammatory response.
What is low grade chronic inflammation?
A persistent mild level of inflammation in the body that can contribute to various health problems over time.
Often will occur without causing any noticeable symptoms.
What is CRP and why is it useful to assess its levels in people in clinic?
It is a biomarker made in the liver.
It is produced in response to inflammation and so if there is >er CRP levels = inflammation present. π₯΅
Describe how the CRP levels in a patient with low grade chronic inflammation will appear over time?
They will steadily increase over time
What is the definition of obesity π§
A BMI >30
What are the two main risk factors for obesity?
- excessive energy consumption (ie eating lots of fatty food).
- reduced physical activity ( π)
why are the current trends relating to obesity concerning?
Because obesity is increasing in old and young populations β child hood obesity is a growing concern.
What is one of the underlying causes for childhood obesity?
Chronic low grade inflammation - where lots of different cells are releasing cytokines, adipokines and reactive oxygen species
Is obesity associated with genetics?
There are a few genes associated with obesity and BMI however -> they dont account for very much.
Most cases of obesity are due to what types of factors?
Genetic and ** environmental** factors
- ie food consumption, lifestyle etc.
What is ** epigenetics ? **
These are **βgene - environmentβ ** interactions that lead to heritable changes in the gene expression via DNA modifications.
Modifications to gene expression are often influenced by environmental factors, lifestyle, and experiences thus impacting how genes are turned on and off
Eg of epigenetics : What is the βDutch winter baby hypothesisβ?
- suggests that the maternal nutrition π€° π¦΄ (which as very poor) during winter (Netherlands WW2) may have influenced the foetal genome πΆ where DNA modifications lead to changes in increased risk of metabolic diseases (ie diabetes, obesity) in adulthood. π€’ π§
What is epigenetics?
These are gene π§¬- environment π₯ π³ interaction that will lead to DNA modifications that lead to heritable changes in gene expression.
Give two examples of genetic modifications that can alter gene expression as a result of epigenetics?
DNA modification - DNA modification that will often lead to gene silencing and reduced gene expression.
** Histone modifications ** - can lead to repression or activation of gene transcription
How does DNA modification affect gene expression?
- will lead to gene silencing π€«, or reduced gene expression β¬οΈ