INTRODUCTION TO THE WORKSHOP
This workshop features Canadian and international speakers who will discuss the latest research on CLA biology and CLA effects in man. Major goals of the CLA Workshop include the identification of future directions for CLA research and opportunities to network with others interested in CLA research. On Thursday evening, there will be a poster session. We would welcome your suggestions for the names of senior graduate students or post-doctoral fellows who would be interested in presenting a poster.
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
CLA as a functional food/nutriceutical could have a significant role in human obesity, diabetes and lipoprotein disorders and hence on the metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular complications. There is substantial experimental evidence in small animals and tissue culture work demonstrating that CLA and certain specific stereoisomers have profound effects on adipose growth and development, and mitigates murine obesity, both nutritional and genetic. Evidence is also beginning to appear in humans that CLA supplements have beneficial effects in the metabolic syndrome, but definitive clinical evidence is yet to appear. This is what prompted the workshop, which focuses on the role of CLA in human health to determine the current state of understanding of the cellular and physiological effects in man. This workshop will provide an opportunity to examine the quality of evidence that supports the use of CLA in the treatment and prevention of human disease.
The workshop will have two components; the first includes scientific presentations by renowned scientists from Canada, the USA and Sweden on CLA biology and its physiological effects. Secondly, current research on the mechanism of action of CLA and the state of current knowledge of CLA effects in humans will be highlighted. An important addition to the workshop is an analysis of the challenges and opportunities to Industry in the production and marketing of CLA as a functional food/nutriceutical.
