OCR Text |
Show THE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH HEALTH SCIENCES LEAP PROGRAM EFFECTS OF BROWN FAT ON HUMAN CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE Ashley Hastings (Nicole L. Mihalopoulos) Department of Pediatrics, Division of Adolescent Medicine University of Utah Background In the human body there are two types of fat, brown fat and white fat. People are born with an abundance of brown fat, and as they age it begins to diminish. The function of brown fat is not well known. Both brown fat and white fat produce hormones that affect how the body uses insulin, glucose and cholesterol. The purpose of this study is to identify people with brown fat. W e hypothesized that brown fat has protective effects against cardiovascular disease. Methods Women and men between the ages of 8 to 99 years of age at time of clinical FDG-PET-CT scan, an imaging procedure commonly used for cancer detection and surveillance, were enrolled. Data collection included: reviewing the PET/CT scan for the presence of brown fat, height, weight, survey that asked about personal history of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Results Since May 2009, 227 participants have been enrolled. The average age is 57.6+14.1, average BMI is 29.6+15.6. Of these, 32 have cardiovascular disease (5 women), 18 have diabetes mellitus (7 women), 8 have brown fat visible on FDG-PET-CT scan (6 women). None of the participants with brown fat have cardiovascular disease or diabetes. Conclusion Preliminary data suggest that brown fat m a y be protective against cardiovascular disease and diabetes. A larger sample size will facilitate a more definitive determination of this association. Data collection is ongoing. Nicole L Mihalopoulos 161 |