Chinese researchers discover new way to burn fat
中国研究者发现减脂新途径
A team from East China Normal University has found that local hyperthermia therapy, which involves applying heat to a small tissue, can help treat obesity and improve metabolic disorders safely.
华东师范大学团队发现局部热疗（对小型组织加热）有助于安全治疗过度肥胖并改善代谢紊乱。
The research paper Local Hyperthermia Therapy Induces Browning of White Fat and Treats Obesity was published in the scientific journal Cell on March 4. The paper is a joint effort by the life science school from ECNU and Hu Cheng, a researcher in metabolic disease genetics from the Sixth People's Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
该篇名为《局部热疗诱导白色脂肪褐变并治疗肥胖》的文章于3月4日发表于《细胞》杂志。该文由华师大生命科学学院和来自上海交通大学附属第六人民医院的代谢疾病遗传学研究人员胡承共同撰写。
Mammals , including humans and mice, have white, brown, and beige fats with different functions in body. White fats store heat while brown ones burn to create heat. Meanwhile, beige fats function as white fats when held still but produce heat like brown ones when stimulated.
哺乳动物，包括人类和老鼠在内，有白、棕、米色三种不同功能的脂肪。白色脂肪负责储存多余的热能，棕色脂肪通过燃效产热，米色脂肪在静息时表现出白色脂肪的特质，而在刺激之下则像棕色脂肪那样产热。
People typically rely on intensive exercise to trigger the burning of fat. Such an activity carries a risk of adverse side effects, especially for those who are overweight.
人们通常依赖于高强度训练来触发燃烧脂肪，此类活动会带来副作用风险，尤其是对那些超重的人来说。
It is already known that beige fat can be stimulated by cold temperatures and nervous systems, but these methods bring risk of adverse side effects including cardiovascular diseases. As such, the team led by researchers Ma Xinran and Xu Lingyan from the ECNU turned their attention to heat therapy.
现在已经知道米色脂肪可以被低温以及神经系统激活，但是这些方法会带来包括心血管疾病在内的副作用风险。As such, 这支由来自华师大的研究员马欣然、徐凌燕带领的团队将其目光转向了热疗。
Following experiments on mice, the researchers found that stimulating beige fat, which can be found on the sides of the neck, upper back, near the collarbone, and around the spine, can enhance sugar absorption and metabolism.
在对小鼠进行试验后，研究者发现激活米色脂肪（分布在颈部两侧、背部上侧、锁骨附近和脊柱周围）可以促进糖分吸收和代谢。
" This method does not harm the central sympathetic nervous system and immune system, and causes no obvious side effects," said Ma, an author of the paper.
“该方法不会伤害中枢交感神经系统和免疫系统，不会产生明显副作用”，论文作者马欣然表示。
The research team said the method may be used to treat obesity in a safe and efficient manner as well as improve metabolism disorders such as insulin resistance and fatty liver.
研究团队表示该方法可用以安全、高效地治疗肥胖，并改善胰岛素抵抗和脂肪肝等代谢紊乱问题。
" However, further research and clinical experiments are required to determine the efficacy of such a method on the human body," Ma added.
“然而，为了确定上述方法在人体上的有效性，还需要进一步的研究和临床试验，”马欣然补充道。
Ning Guang, deputy dean of Shanghai's Ruijin Hospital and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said the research presented "a convenient, safe and effective method in the future for obesity treatment, contributing to the development of related wearable devices possible to prevent chronic metabolic diseases".
中国工程院院士、上海瑞金医院副院长宁光表示，该研究呈现了一种“便捷、安全、有效的未来治疗肥胖的方式，将促进相关可以预防慢性代谢疾病的可穿戴设备的研发。
Jia Weiping, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and an expert from the Sixth People's Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University, said the discovery has laid a research foundation for facilitating clinical drug development and precision treatment.
中国工程院院士、上海交通大学附属第六人民医院专家贾卫平表示，该发现为后续的临床药物研发和精准治疗奠定了重要的研究基础。
