Brown fat linked to heart disease
Chinese and Swedish scientists have discovered a link between the number of fatalities from cardiovascular disease and brown fat.
The researchers at the Karolinska Institute and Linköping University, both in Sweden, found that an activation of the body’s brown fat causes an increase in plaque in the blood vessels. It’s widely known that the number of fatalities caused by heart disease increases during the winter months. Humans have both white fat, where the body stores excess calories, and brown fat, which is composed of fatty tissue which can be burnt to generate heat.
The scientists tested their theories using mice which had been genetically modified to have a higher propensity for arteriosclerosis. As mice were exposed to colder conditions, arteriosclerotic plaque developed more quickly. If the plaque ruptures, there is the possibility that the stored brown fat can enter the blood stream and block blood vessels in the heart and brain.
Speaking about the research on Health Canal, Professor Yihai Cao of the Karolinska Institute said: “From the start, we believed that the activation of brown fat by the cold would simply make the mice thinner and healthier. Instead, the fatty deposits in the blood vessels increased, which was very surprising and contrary to what we had believed.
“If this turns out to be the same for humans as well, it is reasonable to recommend that people who suffer from cardiovascular diseases should try to avoid exposure to cold and wear warm clothes when they are outside in winter.”
The study was part-funded by the European Research Council and the Seventh Framework Programme through the METOXIA research project. The study is published in the journal Cell Metabolism.
