Hala Mourad Demerdash
Alexandria University Hospitals, Egypt
Title: Enzymatic changes in obesity-related diseases
Biography
Biography: Hala Mourad Demerdash
Abstract
Obesity is a condition of abnormally increased body fat, resulting from increased energy intake relative to energy expenditure. Obesity is defined as having a body mass index (BMI) of 30 kg/m2 or above, with an increasing incidence in all over the world. Obesity is associated with several health related problems that increase the risk of morbidity and mortality. Scientists have found that enzymes play an important role in obesity-related diseases. They found that at very low, basal levels, enzymes control the threshold of cellular function “signaling pathways”. The purpose of this review is to describe the role of oxidative stress in various obesity related health problems; since obesity is associated with oxidative stress as result of increased oxygen utilization due fat deposition in tissues, increased cardiac load, coupled with oxidative phosphorylation in mitochondria and depletion of ATP and consequent free radical formation. Moreover, high dietary saturated fatty acids (SFA) stimulate intracellular pathways, with more oxidative stress through superoxide generation from NADPH oxidases, glyceraldehyde autoxidation, protein kinase C (PKC) activation, and polyol pathway. In addition, oxidative stress is associated with the infiltration of adipose tissue by inflammatory cells, together with production of high levels of free radical as part of the immune response. Thus obesity is viewed as a chronic inflammatory situation that is critically important in development of pathological states due to tissue damage and altered enzyme activity that result in disease state to extent of tumorigenesis, such as insulin resistance diabetes, cardiovascular disease and kidney dysfunction. It can be concluded that weight reduction in obese subjects improve anti-oxidant defense of body; the triggering factor for series of molecular signals. Also, improving anti-oxidant defense through modulation of dietary pattern or pharmaceutical antioxidants, which may be a potential therapeutic approach in obesity related disease.