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The main focus of this book is on brown adipose tissue and its metabolic function. The book provides a timely update on the latest research and shows where the field is heading. Brown adipose tissue (BAT) dissipates energy and has received considerable attention in the last few years, having been re-discovered in adult humans in 2007/9. Moreover, BAT might offer a target for novel therapies to address obesity, a health condition that has reached pandemic dimensions.

Nutrition and Metabolism: Underlying Mechanisms and Clinical Consequences brings together internationally recognized experts to comprehensively review our current understanding of how nutrition interacts with the genetic substrate as well as environmental-exogenous factors, including physical activity or the lack thereof, to result in insulin resistance and the metabolic syndrome. After presenting the scope of the problem, the first major part of the book is devoted to genetics and pathophysiology, the second part of the book presents the public health perspective of the most prevalent problems associated with nutrition and the metabolic syndrome, whereas the third major part of the book focuses on clinical assessment and management of the main disease states associated with inappropriate nutrition and the metabolic syndrome. Finally, general information useful for both clinicians and researchers alike is presented in the Appendix. Nutrition and Metabolism: Underlying Mechanisms and Clinical Consequences offers the reader an up-to-date and authoritative review of the major scientific and clinical aspects of the overlapping areas between nutrition and metabolism.

Cardiovascular diseases continue to be the leading cause of death in the - jority of industrialized countries. The most frequent underlying pathology, namely atherosclerosis, and its clinical sequelae, namely coronary heart d- ease, cerebrovascular disease and peripheral artery disease, remain common although for a long time we have been made aware of avoidable or mo-?able etiological factors such as smoking, fat-rich diet or lack of exercise, and although these adverse lifestyle factors have been extensively addressed by population-wide primary prevention programs. Cardiovascular morbidity and mortality also remain high despite successful anti-hypertensive and lipid lowering drug therapies which help to reduce cardiovascular morbidity and mortality by about 30% in both secondary and tertiary prevention settings. This can partly be explained by the increasing life expectancy and growing p- portionofelderly people,especiallyinEuropeandNorthAmerica. Inaddition, the World Health Organization makes the alarming prediction that probably in response to the spreading of western dietary behavior and lack of exercise resulting in an increasing prevalence of diabetes, dyslipidemia and hypert- sion, cardiovascular diseases rather than infectious diseases will become the most frequent cause of death worldwide. This volume of the Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology entitled “Atherosclerosis” is divided into four parts and intends to give an overview on the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, established treatment and prevention regimen, and of perspectives for the development of new treatment modalities.