View clinical trials related to Brown Adipose Tissue.
Filter by:This study investigates cold-induced brown fat activation in winter swimmers and not-winter swimmers by skin temperature measures assessed with infra red thermography imaging and skin temperatures. Winter swimmers and not-winter swimmers will participate in an acute cooling intervention and thermoneutral intervention for comparison of energy expenditure and skin temperatures at the supraclavicular area.
Brown adipose tissue (BAT) thermogenesis can be assessed by IR thermography, the accompanying increase metabolic rate can be measured by whole body calorimetry and BAT volume can be precisely measured by MRI. The aim of the study is to validate IRT for BAT thermogenesis against the present gold standard 18-FDG-PET scan, quantify BAT volume by fat fraction MRI and measure the accompanying increase in BMR by whole body calorimetry among healthy euthyroid subjects.
Vitamin A metabolites (retinoids) have shown to activate brown fat function in preclinical studies, however the role of retinoids in human brown fat physiology and energy metabolism remains elusive. This study aims to identify a possible association between retinoid metabolism, brown fat activity, and energy expenditure in lean and obese subjects by using FDG-PET-CT, PET-MR Scans and indirect calorimetry. Additionally we will analyze the genetic profile of white and brown neck fat biopsies at room temperature and cold conditions in a subset of the study participants. More detailed molecular studies (involving other potential browning markers) will also be performed in adipocytes derived from human SVC. The optimal duration of cold exposure will be determined in a pilot study. Therefore subjects will be repeatedly exposed to cold and circulating retinoid levels and other plasma parameters will be measured at various time points.
This study seeks to assess a novel imaging technique to image brown adipose tissue utilizing the norepinephrine transporter.
Human fat tissue is essentially white fat, the main function of which is to store excess energy intake, and to release it when necessary. Brown fat is far less abundant and is present in the body to burn fat (and thus energy) to generate heat to maintain body temperature around 96 degrees. This phenomenon is called thermogenesis. When humans are exposed to cold on a chronic basis, brown fat expands and becomes more active, and consequently burns more energy. The amount of brown fat is higher during winter, and daily short (20 minutes) exposures to cold might be sufficient to induce its activity. We hypothesized that daily short term (20 minutes) exposure to a cold environment (4 °C) for four weeks increases adaptive BAT-mediated thermogenesis. CIT and DIT will be increased proportionally (the increase in CIT and DIT will be correlated).