Diabetes Dateline
Spring/Summer 2008

NIH Lecture Series Spotlights Addiction, Obesity, Diabetes

What do obesity and drug addiction have in common? Plenty, according to experts at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), who recently explored the topic as part of the NIH Demystifying Medicine lecture series for doctoral students, fellows, and staff.

“Compulsive overeating shares many of the same characteristics as drug addiction,” said Nora D. Volkow, M.D., director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), at a Demystifying Medicine session entitled “Hunger, Appetite, Obesity, Addiction: The New Pandemic.” According to Volkow, obesity and drug addiction have roots in some of the same areas of the brain, such as the hypothalamus, amygdala, and prefrontal cortex.

In addition to acknowledging the role of the hypothalamus in behavior that results in obesity, Monica C. Skarulis, M.D., an investigator in the Clinical Endocrinology Branch of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), discussed the effect of hormones such as leptin and ghrelin on losing weight and maintaining weight loss. Skarulis also discussed two forms of weight-loss surgery—gastric bypass and gastric banding.

The NIDDK funds research related to obesity’s link to type 2 diabetes, bariatric surgery as a treatment for severe obesity, genetic factors that predispose people to obesity, the role of gut bacteria in obesity, and obesity prevention. The NIDDK also supports studies of eating disorders associated with obesity in some people.

Accelerating Research

The NIDDK and the NIDA are part of a 25-Institute task force to accelerate obesity research across the NIH. NIDDK Director Griffin P. Rodgers, M.D., M.A.C.P., serves as a task force co-chair. The U.S. obesity epidemic has contributed to increases in diseases that are the focus of NIH research, such as diabetes, heart disease, and stroke.

The NIDDK publication Recent Advances and Emerging Opportunities has more information about NIDDK research on diabetes and obesity. The publication is available online at www2.niddk.nih.gov/AboutNIDDK/ResearchAndPlanning/Advances/Advance_2008.htm.

For more information about Demystifying Medicine lectures, visit www1.od.nih.gov/oir/DemystifyingMed. The NIH initiated the series to help bridge the gap between advances in biology and their application to major human diseases. The 2-hour lectures are held on the NIH campus from January through May and are presented live through online streaming video. Recorded videos are available online following each live event. Both live and recorded sessions are available on the NIH videocasting website at http://videocast.nih.gov.

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NIH Publication No. 08–4562
August 2008