Northwestern Medicine scientists led by Joseph Bass, MD, Ph.D., the Charles F. Kettering Professor of Endocrinology and Metabolism and director of the Center for Diabetes and Metabolism, have discovered how disruptions in the circadian rhythm impair metabolic function in fat cells, providing new insights into the molecular mechanisms that cause obesity and metabolic disease, according to a recent study published in Nature Metabolism.
“It’s not simply the accrual of excess fat that leads to disease. It’s a change in the actual function and the capacity of the energy center within the cell to work properly,” said Bass, who is also chief of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Molecular Medicine in the Department of Medicine and a member of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University.
The circadian rhythm is the body’s own internal 24-hour clock that regulates the sleep-wake cycle, hormone levels and metabolism, among other systems throughout the body.







