How much heat is generated in our bodies, but also how we generate heat, could be related to differences in susceptibility to obesity. Scientists at the Institute of Physiology of the CAS have investigated how two different strains of laboratory mice deal with cold - the results also suggest a new way to treat obesity by activating non-shock thermogenesis in muscles.
Lithium has been used for more than 70 years as an effective mood stabiliser for patients with bipolar disorder, for example. However, the mechanism of its therapeutic effect is still not well understood. Alena Sumova's team from the Institute of Physiology of the CAS has now shown that lithium affects the clock in a part of the brain called the choroid plexus, whose role is related to "cleaning" in the brain during sleep. The results, published in the prestigious journal Biomedicine and Pharmacotherapy, show the importance of timing lithium treatment correctly during the day.
Two important mechanisms that explain exactly how information about pain or heat and cold is transmitted in the cell have been revealed in an international study by scientists from Lund University, with participation of experts from the Institute of Physiology of the CAS. Two studies were published in the journal Nature Communications.
Breast milk contains an ideal cocktail of nutrients and biologically active substances that are essential for the rapid growth and development of the baby. In a new study, researchers from the Institute of Physiology of the CAS have described how the quality of the primary milk - colostrum - is negatively affected by premature birth or caesarean section. They also found that complex lipids are present in breast milk, which are broken down by one of the milk enzymes, releasing anti-inflammatory substances. Thus, breast milk is an irreplaceable way of nutrition for babies even in cases of substandard births.
The National Institute for Metabolic and Cardiovascular Disease Research is established - the largest ever domestic project of this type, bringing together five centres of scientific, research and clinical excellence. The prestigious institutions will help patients with diseases of civilisation, which together account for many times more lives than cancer. Teams of experts from IKEM, the Institute of Physiology and the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the CAS, Masaryk University in Brno and Charles University will work together to gain a deeper understanding of the causes of interconnected diseases, to develop new drugs and to increase the involvement of modern technologies in treatment.
