The role of adipose tissue in the pathophysiology of obesity and anorexia nervosa

The view of adipose tissue and its significance in human pathophysiology has changed substantially in the recent couple of years. It has been shown that adipose tissue is not only a passive storage site for excess energy, but that it actively participates in the maintenance of whole-body homeostasis as an endocrine organ producing various hormones and other biologically active molecules, which by acting in an endocrine, paracrine as well as autocrine fashion affect different organs and systems. An intact regulation of adipose tissue processes plays an important role in sustaining the integrity of the organism, whereas its defects lead to the development of a number of diseases. This thesis focuses primarily on the significance of adipose tissue in the pathogenesis of obesity and anorexia nervosa. In the last years, the incidence of obesity rapidly increases ranking, along with its complications, among the world's leading health problems. Obesity is associated with endocrine dysfunction of adipose tissue characterized by disrupted production of adipose tissue hormones and cytokines resulting in the development of numerous disorders including type 2 diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular diseases. A completely opposite disorder, where, however, adipose tissue, or more precisely the absence of it, plays..