CRCP presents book on obesity

In a ceremony presided by the Communications and Continuing Educaction Vicerector Luz Márquez de la Plata, The Joaquín V. Luco Center for Celular Regulation and Pathology held the release of the book "The Weight of Obsesity in the 21^st Century" by Doctors María Paz Marzolo and Ada Cuevas Marín and the rerelase of the book "The Incommunications of Alzheimer", by Dr. Nibaldo Inestrosa. The ceremony also featured speeches by CONICYT's president María Elena Boisier and UC Department of Medicine gastroenterologist Dr. Juan Francisco Miquel.

The event took place at the Pontificia Univeridad Catolica de Chile's Department of Biological Sciences, and also counted with the presence of the Dean, Dr. Juan Correa and the rest of the Center's academic faculty. The center was founded in 1999 with funding probided by the government's National Fund for Priority Areas, Fondap.

In her speech, CONICYT's president spoke highly of the CRCP's trayectory. "Just by glossing over the figures, we realize that in its ten years of existence, 94 undergraduate and 90 PhD students have done their theses at the center," said Boisier; and "Between the years 2000 and 2004, the Center had 17 postdoctoral students; during the 2005-2009 period, the number increased to 34".

These achievements, which also include over 200 ISI publications, allowed this group of researchers to earn CONICYT's Basal Financement, which is awareded to the country's best scientific centers.

Part of the Center's business has always been "outreach, which is reflected in the two books that today bring us together", commented Boisier. Furthermore, she stated, "For CONICYT, for the Fondap program, for Fondecyt's councils, it's satisfying to see the fruits of this center portrayed not only in the scientific area, but also in matters of public communication".

"The Weight of Obesity in the 21^st Century", by doctors Marzolo and Cuevas, tackles diverse aspects of a disorder which, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) is a pandemic that affects over 300 million people around the world. In the prologue, Dr. Inestrosa points out that "over four million chileans today suffer from this disorder". The book covers the origin of the disease, it's biological bases, consequences, treatments, and latest breakthroughs. All of this helps the reader to acquire a better understanding of the problem.

The book "Alzheimer's Incommunications", by Dr. Inestrosa, offes a detailed historical description of the disease, an overview of the main theories regarding the disorder, and a valuable collection of facts and information, written in a languge capaple of unifying  the rigor and excellence of advanced research with the ability to transmit this information to society.

Those interested in a copy of these publications can request them directly at CRCP's Commuications Department.