Although high-fat diet intake is known to cause obesity and diabetes, the effect of high-fat diet itself on cognitive function remains to be clarified. We have previously shown that apoptosis signal-regulating kinase 1 (ASK1) is responsible for cognitive impairment caused by chronic cerebral hypoperfusion. The present work, by using ASK1 deficient mice, was undertaken to explore the influence o...

Excessive caloric intake is a contributing risk factor for human metabolic disorders. Caloric restriction may prolong a person's life by lowering the incidence of deadly diseases. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) have been associated with the biochemical basis of the relationship between caloric intake and pathophysiologic processes. Polymorphisms assoc...

Opium alkaloids counterparts are secreted by human and animal organisms but the role of endogenous opioid peptides in horses has not yet been fully elucidated. Endogenous opioids are involved in regulating food intake, sexual and social activity, pain relief and pain threshold regulation in horses as well as in regulating the functions of the immune system. The aim of this review is to describe...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW The hypolipidemic and antiobesogenic effects of tea intake have been associated with bioactive compounds that regulate peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs). This review describes the recent research on two of these compounds, (-)-epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) and linalool. RECENT FINDINGS Catechins (specifically EGCG) are key bioactive compounds found in tea...

Fish are the most diversified group of vertebrates and, although progress has been made in the past years, only relatively few fish species have been examined to date, with regards to the endocrine regulation of feeding in fish. In fish, as in mammals, feeding behavior is ultimately regulated by central effectors within feeding centers of the brain, which receive and process information from en...

Reactive oxygen species have been implicated in feeding control through involvement in brain lipid sensing, and regulating NPY/AgRP and pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons, although the underlying mechanisms are unclear. Nitric oxide is a signaling molecule in neurons and it stimulates feeding in many species. Whether reactive oxygen species affect feeding through interaction with nitric oxide ...

This study examined the prevalence of external, restrained and emotional eating and the relationship of these disturbed types of eating behaviours with perceived parental control of food intake (pressure to eat and restriction) in a group of 7- to 12-year-old boys and girls (n = 596). External eating turned out to be the most prevalent disturbed eating behaviour for boys and girls, followed by ...

Amajor difficulty in determining the mechanisms responsible for human hypertension is the great variety of systems involved in regulating blood pressure and our tendency to assume that these mechanisms are similar in all hypertensive patients. Even when patients are separated into those whose blood pressure is or is not sensitive to the level of sodium intake, it is often assumed that all "salt...

The gastrointestinal tract has a crucial role in the control of energy homeostasis through its role in the digestion, absorption, and assimilation of ingested nutrients. Furthermore, signals from the gastrointestinal tract are important regulators of gut motility and satiety, both of which have implications for the long-term control of body weight. Among the specialized cell types in the gastro...

The stomach-derived hormone ghrelin interacts with key CNS circuits regulating energy balance and body weight. Here we provide evidence that the central ghrelin signaling system is required for alcohol reward. Central ghrelin administration (to brain ventricles or to tegmental areas involved in reward) increased alcohol intake in a 2-bottle (alcohol/water) free choice limited access paradigm in...