ISSN: 2578-4641
Authors: Kulvinder Kochar Kaur*, Allahbadia G and Mandeep Singh
Obesity is assuming epidemic proportions. We don’t have any medical therapy that can be used for long term. Although bariatric Surgery (BS) results in immediate weight loss neither it can be afforded by all individuals nor is it safe with the comorbidities of obesity. Hence it has become essential to understand the etiopathology of increasing obesity by leaps and bounds to get a long-term sustainable cure. Volkow, et al. gave a comparison of obesity, simulating that of patients of drugs of abuse, where compulsive intake of tasty food, that is high in lipids and sugars, much >the metabolic requirements. Although hypothalamus remains the basic area where integration of circulating signals like leptin, ghrelin and nutrients occurs from the periphery further it is influenced by both higher centers along with sensory influences like tastes and smell along with emotional states. Earlier we had reviewed how different higher centers influence hypothalamus for final intake of food, here we discuss in detail the role of mesolimbic pathways as far as the rewarding part of feeding is concerned. Role of dopamine signaling, its receptors and genes controlling are further discussed in detail.
Keywords: Obesity; Food Addiction; Drugs of Abuse; ML Reward Areas; Taq1 A; ANKK1; FTO; DRD2
