THIS HEAR IS A LOTA INFORMASTION,. BUT; I AINT' HAD NO RAT PROBLEMES SINCE
LEAVIN KENTUCKY. ACCORDIN TO THIS HEAR STUDY THEY MUST BE GITTIN PLENTY TO
EAT,. A FAT RAT IS FOR SHURE EASYER SHOOTIN THAN A SKINNY ONE,;. AND JEST
WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH FOOD.COOKIN.,?

FATTY



"Sheldon" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> The following news release is being issued today by the U.S.
> Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory. The release and
> accompanying images may also be viewed online at:
> http://www.bnl.gov/bnlweb/pubaf/pr/P...asp?prID=07-97
>
>
> *********
> NEWS RELEASE
> Number: 07-97
>
> Food Restriction Increases Dopamine Receptor Levels in Obese Rats
>
> Evidence for interplay of brain's "reward" chemical with availability
> of food in obesity
>
>
> UPTON, NY -- A brain-imaging study of genetically obese rats conducted
> at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory
> provides more evidence that dopamine - a brain chemical associated
> with reward, pleasure, movement, and motivation - plays a role in
> obesity. The scientists found that genetically obese rats had lower
> levels of dopamine D2 receptors than lean rats. They also demonstrated
> that restricting food intake can increase the number of D2 receptors,
> partially attenuating a normal decline associated with aging.
>
>
> "This research corroborates brain-imaging studies conducted at
> Brookhaven that found decreased levels of dopamine D2 receptors in
> obese people compared with normal-weight people," said Brookhaven
> neuroscientist Panayotis (Peter) Thanos, lead author of the current
> study, which will be published in the journal Synapse and is now
> available online.
>
> It's not clear whether reduced receptor levels are a cause or
> consequence of obesity: Overeating may chronically reduce receptor
> levels, which, over the long term, could eventually contribute to
> obesity. But having genetically low receptor levels may also lead to
> obesity by predisposing the individual to overeating in an attempt to
> stimulate a "blunted" reward system. Either way, revving up receptor
> levels by restricting food intake could enhance the impact of this
> common strategy for combating obesity.
>
> "Consuming fewer calories is obviously important for people trying to
> lose weight, plus improving the brain's ability to respond to rewards
> other than food may help prevent overeating," Thanos said. Because
> food intake can have such a dramatic effect on dopamine receptor
> levels, "this study also provides further evidence for the interplay
> of genetic factors with the environment in the development of obesity
> in our society," he said.
>
> The finding that food restriction can attenuate the effects of aging
> on the brain's ability to respond to dopamine may also help explain
> why food restriction slows down other changes associated with aging,
> such as declines in locomotor activity and sensitivity to reward.
>
> Study methods and main findings
>
> The researchers measured dopamine D2 receptor levels in adolescent and
> young adult genetically obese Zucker rats and lean rats. Between
> measures, half of the rats in each group were given free access to
> food while the other half were given 70 percent of the daily average
> amount of food eaten by the unrestricted group.
>
> The scientists measured D2 receptor levels using two different
> techniques: micro-positron emission tomography (microPET) in living
> animals, which uses a radioactively tagged molecule that competes with
> the brain's natural dopamine for D2 receptor binding sites, and
> autoradiography, which uses a tracer that binds more strongly than
> natural dopamine but can only be used in tissue samples rather than in
> living animals. Together these two methods indicate the absolute
> number of D2 receptors found in the brain and how many are available
> or free during day-to-day function, which might be relevant to further
> elucidating the role of dopamine in obesity.
>
>
> One main finding was that the overall number of D2 receptors was lower
> in obese than in lean rats. Also D2 receptor levels decreased with
> age, but this decline was significantly blunted in food-restricted
> rats compared with those given free access to food. This attenuation
> was most apparent in the obese rats.
>
> Another main finding was that D2 receptor availability - that is, the
> number of receptors available for binding dopamine - was greater at
> adulthood in the obese rats compared to the lean rats. This suggests
> that perhaps the release of dopamine had significantly decreased with
> age in the obese unrestricted animals more than in the restricted ones
> or the lean rats. The possibility of lower release of dopamine in
> obese subjects is presently being examined, the researchers say.
>
> This research was funded by the Office of Biological and Environmental
> Research within the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science and
> by the Intramural Research Program of the National Institute on
> Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, which is part of the National Institutes
> of Health.
>
> For more information about Peter Thanos's research, see
> http://www.bnl.gov/thanoslab.
>
> One of ten national laboratories overseen and primarily funded by the
> Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Brookhaven
> National Laboratory conducts research in the physical, biomedical, and
> environmental sciences, as well as in energy technologies and national
> security. Brookhaven Lab also builds and operates major scientific
> facilities available to university, industry and government
> researchers. Brookhaven is operated and managed for DOE's Office of
> Science by Brookhaven Science Associates, a limited-liability company
> founded by the Research Foundation of State University of New York on
> behalf of Stony Brook University, the largest academic user of
> Laboratory facilities, and Battelle, a nonprofit, applied science and
> technology organization.
>
> Visit Brookhaven Lab's electronic newsroom for links, news archives,
> graphics, and mo http://www.bnl.gov/newsroom
> ---
>