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A team of Portuguese scientists, from the Champalimaud Center, have discovered neuroimmune reactions capable of burning visceral fat that humans accumulate near vital organs such as the heart or liver.
This new discovery paves the way for the fight against diseases such as obesity, diabetes or even various types of cancer.
Henrique Veiga Fernandes, researcher and research director of Champalimaud and one of the authors of the groundbreaking study published in Nature, began by explaining to us what had already been discovered.
“What we found is that visceral fat, which is that fat that accumulates in each of us in the abdominal cavity, in the abdomen, which although it looks very uniform, is actually very complex and includes, in addition to fat cells, the nervous and immune systems. system cells‘, to explain the world.
Henrique Veiga Fernandes and his team made an unprecedented scientific discovery: “What we have actually discovered is that to control the fat in the abdominal cavity, the so-called visceral fat, it is necessary that the nervous system and the cells of the immune system, in this same fat, cooperate with each other so that our body can burn that fat“.
These fats are a huge problem from a public health point of view because, according to the scientist, “It is closely associated with the development of 13 different types of cancer, including two that are quite prevalent in Europe, breast cancer and colorectal cancer, but they are also two causes of cardiovascular disease that are a leading cause of death in Europe.“.
Visceral fat is also associated with a predisposition to type 2 diabetes, which begins with insulin resistance.
“This is a new way to control the fat that accumulates in our stomachs and thus opens up very important new avenues for new forms of therapeutic interventions in cases of obesity.‘ added the investigator.
These new discoveries in the scientific field were the engine for the creation of LiMM Therapeutics, a startup company from the Champalimaud Center, which will continue this research.
“The passage of time and the various discoveries we have made have led us to create a startup that thoroughly explores this dialogue between the nervous system and the immune system in various medical indications. One is obesity and metabolic disease‘, compressed.
At the moment, compositions are being created for “New drugs that can be used to treat metabolic disorders and obesity“.
Henrique Veiga Fernandes said he wanted to continue studying in the future”This is the relationship between the nervous system and the immune system“.
“What we are exploring extensively is precisely this dialogue between the nervous system and the immune system in the context of cancer – cancer. How we can use this information and the role of each of these systems to better understand different types of cancer and to develop new therapeutic approaches, it is clear that the ultimate goal is to cure cancer“, is over.
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