HEALTH NEWS

Study Title:

Brown Adipose Tissue is Metabolically Active

Study Abstract

Using positron-emission tomography (PET), we found that cold-induced glucose uptake was increased by a factor of 15 in paracervical and supraclavicular adipose tissue in five healthy subjects. We obtained biopsy specimens of this tissue from the first three consecutive subjects and documented messenger RNA (mRNA) and protein levels of the brown-adipocyte marker, uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1). Together with morphologic assessment, which showed numerous multilocular, intracellular lipid droplets, and with the results of biochemical analysis, these findings document the presence of substantial amounts of metabolically active brown adipose tissue in healthy adult humans.

Study Information

Kirsi A. Virtanen, Martin E. Lidell, Janne Orava, Mikael Heglind, Rickard Westergren, Tarja Niemi, Markku Taittonen, Jukka Laine, Nina-Johanna Savisto, Sven Enerbäck, and Pirjo Nuutila.
Functional Brown Adipose Tissue in Healthy Adults
NEJM
2009 April
Turku PET Center, University of Turku and the Departments of Surgery, Anesthesiology, Pathology, and Medicine, Turku University Hospital — both in Turku, Finland.