Pasarica Magdalena, Dhurandhar Nikhil V
Department of Infections and Obesity, Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Louisiana State University System, Baton Rouge, LA 70808, USA.
Adv Food Nutr Res. 2007;52:61-102. doi: 10.1016/S1043-4526(06)52002-9.
The rapid increase in obesity and the associated health care costs have prompted a search for better approaches for its prevention and management. Such efforts may be facilitated by better understanding the etiology of obesity. Of the several etiological factors, infection, an unusual causative factor, has recently started receiving greater attention. In the last two decades, 10 adipogenic pathogens were reported, including human and nonhuman viruses, scrapie agents, bacteria, and gut microflora. Some of these pathogens are associated with human obesity, but their causative role in human obesity has not been established. This chapter presents information about the natural hosts, signs and symptoms, and pathogenesis of the adipogenic microorganisms. If relevant to humans, "Infectobesity" would be a relatively novel, yet extremely significant concept. A new perspective about the infectious etiology of obesity may stimulate additional research to assess the contribution of hitherto unknown pathogens to human obesity and possibly to prevent or treat obesity of infectious origins.
肥胖率的迅速上升以及相关的医疗保健成本促使人们寻找更好的预防和管理方法。更好地了解肥胖的病因可能有助于此类努力。在多种病因中，感染作为一个不寻常的致病因素，最近开始受到更多关注。在过去二十年中，已报告了10种致肥胖病原体，包括人类和非人类病毒、羊瘙痒病病原体、细菌和肠道微生物群。其中一些病原体与人类肥胖有关，但其在人类肥胖中的致病作用尚未确定。本章介绍了致肥胖微生物的自然宿主、体征和症状以及发病机制。如果与人类相关，“感染性肥胖”将是一个相对新颖但极其重要的概念。关于肥胖感染病因的新观点可能会激发更多研究，以评估迄今未知的病原体对人类肥胖的影响，并有可能预防或治疗感染性起源的肥胖。
