Scientists from Washington University in St. Louis found that brown fat in the body could protect against pre-diabetes.
They found that higher levels of active brown adipose tissue (also known as “brown fat”) are more prevalent in people who exhibit very early indications of metabolic disorders.
The study suggests that active brown fat is recruited to counteract “pre-prediabetic” states, potentially serving as a first-line protective mechanism against very early metabolic or hormonal abnormalities.
The research is published in the Journal of Nuclear Medicine and was conducted by John P. Crandall et al.
Brown fat is a type of fat that is activated when a person gets cold, producing heat to warm the body.
The presence of brown fat was initially recognized on oncologic FDG PET/CT scans, which are now the most commonly used technique for the in vivo detection of brown fat.
Studies using PET with FDG and/or other fatty-acid tracers have demonstrated that brown fat consumes glucose and fatty acids, making it a potential way for the treatment of obesity and other metabolic disorders.
In the study, the team aimed to assess if there are differences in baseline glucose, insulin, lipid, and other metabolite levels between subjects with varying amounts of brown fat.
They tested 34 healthy adult volunteers between the ages of 18 and 35 and with a body mass index (BMI) between 18 and 25.
To activate the brown fat, participants wore cooling suits to bring their body’s temperature to just above the shivering point.
After two hours, they removed the cooling suits and were imaging with FDG PET/CT. Post-cooling blood samples were also taken after the removal of the cooling suits.
A higher level of activated brown fat was linked to early metabolic dysfunction.
The team found that pre-cooling glucose, insulin, thyroid-stimulating hormone, and triglyceride levels were much higher in the high brown fat group than in the low brown fat group.
In addition, a big difference in BMI was found, with participants with high brown fat levels having a higher BMI than subjects with low levels of brown fat.
Those with low brown fat levels were more likely to report observing a controlled diet and exercising regularly.
This study suggests brown adipose tissue may strongly influence (and be influenced by) overall metabolic health. Activation of brown fat is a metabolic coping mechanism in ‘pre-pre-diabetes.
If you care about diabetes, please read studies about a cure for type 2 diabetes, and why insulin is more expensive for people with diabetes.
For more information about diabetes, please see recent studies about how to protect your eyes from diabetes, and results showing this could improve your insulin function, prevent type 2 diabetes.
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