P2X7 Receptor And Inflammation In The Pathophysiology Of Mood Disorders
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$598,063.00
Summary
Mood disorders are chronic disabling mental illnesses affecting a significant proportion of the population. Inherited variations in a particular gene involved in inflammation will be investigated in individuals with mood disorders. This work aims to understand the relationship between inflammation of parts of the brain and mood disorders leading to the potential development of a new therapeutic target.
Diet-induced obesity is the foremost health concern in today�s society and causes many metabolic problems that lead to type diabetes and cardiovascular disease. This grant identifies ghrelin resistance, as a novel metabolic adaptation during obesity. Ghrelin is a hormone that normally stimulates food intake and body weight gain, however during obesity ghrelin does not stimulate food intake. Artificial induction of ghrelin resistance will restrict the development of diet _induced obesity.