Some cases of human obesity may well be caused by a virus, say Nikhil Dhurandhar and Richard Atkinson of the University of Wisconsin, Madison. The researchers analysed the blood of 199 volunteers for anti- bodies for the adenovirus Ad-36, that causes obesity in animal models. Volunteers included 45 lean people while the remaining 154 were obese. While all the lean people were seronegative, (did not have antibodies to Ad-36), 23 of the Obese people were found to be seropositive and responded significantly better to treatment with obesity drugs than those who were seronegative (The Lancet, Vol 349, No 9049).
Comments are moderated and will be published only after the site moderator’s approval. Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name. Selected comments may also be used in the ‘Letters’ section of the Down To Earth print edition.