Fwd: Human virus is found to cause obesity in mice, chickens

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This is a very interesting article. Note that the study suggests that the

" virus decreases energy expenditure rather than increasing appetite. " This

is in line with the TCM view that one of the causes of obesity may be Qi

Deficiency.

 

This is a human virus - adenovirus-36. Researchers have found other animal

viruses which do trigger an increase in appetite due to damaging the part of

the brain that controls appetite. Although researchers have only found

animal obesity viruses which do this, I suspect (from personal experience)

that there are viruses that humans catch which may do this also. I know

that when I have had an active case of mono and/or a major flare-up of

CFIDS, I usually gain weight. As I go into remission, I start to lose

naturally. Part of it is decreased energy, but after a certain point during

the active phase, my appetite also gets excessive.

 

Some of the possible Roots of obesity in TCM are Qi Deficiency frequently

with Qi Stagnation, Dampness accumulation and Phlegm, and Wind invasion in

some cases. Based on the information in this article, healers may also need

to look at Latent Heat issues. Latent Heat problems are those caused by a

pathogen which the body has not entirely eliminated or eliminated the

effects of.

 

I also want to caution readers that even though Stomach Heat is listed as

the cause of excessive appetite in most TCM texts, you do run into cases

where the person with the excessive appetite is too Cold, and warming herbs

and spices actually decrease the appetite.

 

The bottom line is if you run into a case where the person starts to lose

excess weight naturally after being on herbs like echinacea, golden seal,

etc., this may not be a coincidence. These may be cases where a virus is

causing the excess weight gain. This doesn't mean that you automatically

use herbs like echinacea in a misguided " one treatment fits all " weight loss

program. You only use them when indicated, but you're aware that if people

with a long-term infection are obese, the obesity may be coming from the

virus infection. It may also mean that in some cases of obesity you may need

to improve immune system functioning with adaptogen herbs.

 

And in cases where obesity is coming from a virus, this does not mean that

the person doesn't also need Qi tonics and to have some Spleen imbalances

corrected or have other imbalances identified and treated. In TCM and

Western herbalism you treat individuals according to what their unique

problems are, not according to some one size fits all protocol.

 

I also found the fact that it's an adenovirus very interesting. The article

says, " most adenoviruses cause colds, diarrhea or pinkeye. " In TCM the two

systems most responsible for a person having enough Qi (roughly translated

energy) are the Lungs and the Spleen. Adenoviruses love the lungs. When the

lungs are infected, the person may have trouble extracting enough air Qi

which in turn leads to Qi Deficiency which in some individuals may be a

factor in obesity. The diarrhea suggests that there may be Spleen

involvement as well. Once a person is Qi Deficient because of Lung and/or

Spleen involvement, Qi Deficiency tends to be a snowballing situation. The

body lacks enough Qi to properly extract Qi from food and air, and the

person becomes even more Qi Deficiency which leads to even less being

extracted and so on. Because of the pinkeye I also would like to know how

the Liver is being affected. (Eye and vision problems may be a sign of Liver

imbalance since in TCM the eyes are considered a part of the Liver system.

 

Victoria

 

>Human virus is found to cause obesity in mice, chickens

>Fri, 28 Jul 2000 08:22:09 -0700

>

>Human virus is found to cause obesity in mice, chickens

>

>

>

> Friday, 28 July 2000

> Human virus is found to cause obesity in mice, chickens

> By Matt Crenson

> THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

>

> A coldlike 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 John 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 Richard 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 with 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 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 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.

>

>

>--------

 

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