View clinical trials related to Obesity.
Filter by:In summary, the researchers want to construct a longitudinal data bank using voluntary health examination participants. Researchers in the National Taiwan University Hospital (NTUH) campus can utilize these data to clarify the effects of several genetic and environmental factors on various common diseases in Taiwan in the future.
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) phenotype can be structured into three components: anovulation, hyperandrogenism and the metabolic syndrome (of which hyperinsulinemia, secondary to insulin resistance, is the central abnormality)(1). It is the most common endocrinologic disease seen in Gynecologic clinic. The follicular excess in polycystic ovaries and the failure of selection of one dominant follicle contribute to the anovulation of PCOS. The infertile PCOS female usually suffered from difficult ovulation induction and high risk of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome because of extensive stimulation. PCOS is the main androgen disorder in women and has been suggested to be associated with a high risk of developing cardiovascular disease and type-2 diabetes. In many PCOS patients, overweight or central obesity is generally associated with increases in fasting insulin levels, insulin resistance, and glucose intolerance, and has been identified as a target for new therapeutic strategy, including early change in lifestyle. Insulin resistance, defined as decreased insulin-mediated glucose utilization, is commonly (10-25%) found in the normal population. In women with PCOS, insulin resistance appears even more common (up to 50%), in both obese and non-obese women.Hyperinsulinemia appears to play a key pathogenic role in the ovarian androgen overproduction, because of the stimulatory effect of insulin on ovarian steroid production.
We, the investigators at National Taiwan University Hospital, want to compare patients' islet cell function, insulin sensitivity and risk of chronic complications with normal subjects. Moreover, we want to examine whether they are at a higher risk of having metabolic syndrome and to answer whether we should screen the phenotypes of metabolic syndrome in impaired fasting glucose (IFG) and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) patients. Then, we want to examine the association between insulin sensitivity and islet functions.
Combined programme: Nutrition, Allergy, Mucosal immunology and Intestinal microbiota (NAMI) was created with the objective to reverse the rising trend of chronic inflammatory diseases, such as allergic disease and obesity, by control of the internal and external environments of the infant. To approach this problem, the project aims to characterize - how immunology is regulated during pregnancy and early infancy, - how the immune interaction between mother and child is influenced by nutritional and microbial factors, and - how the regulation is related to disease risk.
Cardiovascular risk factors and psycho-social characteristics will be determined in obese and non-obese patients in the setting of primary medical care.
Our previous studies have demonstrated that there is substantial metabolic opposition to the maintenance of an altered body weight. Leptin is a protein secreted by fat cells and the circulating concentrations of leptin are directly proportional to fat mass. Leptin-deficiency is associated with severe obesity in rodents and in humans and the obesity is relieved by leptin administration. These studies examine the hypothesis that some of this metabolic opposition cto the maintenance of an altered body weight can be relieved by restoring circulating concentrations of the hormone leptin to the same range as at usual body weight in subjects who are maintaining a reduced body weight. The basic design of this study is to observe subjects at a 10% reduced body weight and then again at that reduced body weight while receiving physiological leptin or T3 supplementation.
It is unknown if obesity contributes to the development of heart disease in African American men and women. This study was created to determine whether there is a relationship between sex and body size and the incidence of heart disease in African American men and women. Researchers will attempt to associate obesity with the presence of heart disease risk factors. Risk factors that will be studied include; total body fat, body fat distribution, fat content of the blood (triglyceride concentration, low density lipoproteins [LDL], and high density lipoproteins [HDL]), how fast fat is removed from the blood, and how well insulin works in the body. Scientific studies have shown that obesity and increased levels of fat content in the blood are important risk factors for heart disease in Caucasian women. However, similar studies in African American women have failed to show the same correlation. In fact, it appears that African American women in all three body weight groupings, nonobese, overweight, and obese experience high death rates due to heart disease. In addition, prior research has shown that obese African American men tend to have elevated levels of fat in the blood while African American women have normal blood fat levels. Therefore, if high levels of triglycerides (fat found in the blood) are not seen in non-diabetic obese African American women, it cannot be considered a risk factor in this population. This suggests that studies conducted on Caucasian women may not provide insight into heart disease risk factors in African American women. The study will take 2000 healthy non-diabetic African American men and women (ages 18-70) and body mass index 3 subgroups; nonobese, overweight and obese. Diabetes undeniably increases the risk of heart disease. Therefore patients suffering from diabetes will not be included in the study. Candidates for the study will undergo a series of tests and examinations over 2 outpatient visits. Subjects will have body fat analyses, resting energy expenditure measurements, an EKG (electrocardiogram), and specific blood tests. Researchers believe this study will provide significant insight into the causes of obesity and heart disease in African Americans.
The prevalence of obesity in children is reaching epidemic proportions. Excess adiposity is more than just a cosmetic problem, having substantial metabolic consequences. Insulin resistance, hyperinsulinemia, impaired glucose tolerance, and frank diabetes are often seen in obese children. In this study the prevalence of impaired glucose (carbohydrate) tolerance in lean children with a family history of diabetes and obese children with acanthosis nigricans with or without a family history of diabetes mellitus will be studied.