Revolutionary technology that turns harmful fatty acids into beneficial ones.
A revolutionary gene therapy technique is presented as an original alternative to treating obesity, the epidemic of the 21st century.
The key, as the study published in the journal PNAS explains, is converting fat, harmful omega-6 fatty acids, into beneficial omega-3 fatty acids.
This, according to Farshid Gilak and Ruhan Tang from Shriners Hospital for Children in St. Louis (USA), may help obese children reduce the risk of developing other health problems, especially arthritis.
“The main preventable risk factor for arthritis in children is being overweight,” Gilak explains.
However, he adds, the answer is to simply tell kids to lose weight without addressing the underlying problem. “Childhood obesity is an epidemic, and arthritis is becoming more common among children as a result.. We found that it’s not just obesity that’s harmful, it’s diet as well. The types of fatty acids that children consume play a major role in weight gain, and once obesity becomes possible, it opens the door to other health problems that are difficult to reverse.
This method uses an inactivated virus called an adeno-associated virus (AAV) to introduce a gene for a specific enzyme into cells.
A new gene therapy automatically converts highly inflammatory omega-6 fatty acids into omega-3 fatty acids, which are beneficial for metabolic health.
Omega-6 acids, found in fatty foods and vegetable oils, such as those used in fried foods, promote inflammation and can cause arthritis, heart disease and metabolic problems.
Omega-6s promote inflammation and can cause arthritis, heart disease and metabolic problems.
On the other hand, omega-3s, found in fish and some nuts, promote a healthier metabolic profile, improve insulin sensitivity, promote fat metabolism, and reduce inflammation and the risk of obesity-related diseases.
Natalia Harasimovich, co-leader of the study, emphasizes that gene therapy also reduced the number of pro-inflammatory cellsis fundamental to the development of inflammation associated with obesity and arthritis.
Post-traumatic arthritis
In the study, researchers focused on a type of arthritis common in children called post-traumatic arthritis, caused by knee injuries such as meniscus tears.
They found that a single injection of gene therapy significantly reduced the effects of a high-fat diet rich in omega-6 on overall metabolic health and knee arthritis.
One of the remarkable findings was that diet-induced obesity caused premature “aging” in mice, which was prevented using gene therapy.
“Obesity Causes Aging Knees in Young Patients -Gilak assures-. The Western diet tends to be high in omega-6 and low in omega-3, creating an imbalance, especially in children. The gene therapy we developed automatically converts omega-6 fatty acids to omega-3 fatty acids in the body, turning bad fats into good ones. “Arthritis can be a very painful and disabling disease for children, so we hope this research will help reduce the risk of developing it and make treatment more effective.”