Department of Nuclear Medicine, Keimyung University Dongsan Hospital, Daegu 42601, Republic of Korea.
Department of Neurology, Keimyung University Dongsan Hospital, Daegu 42601, Republic of Korea.
Int J Mol Sci. 2024 Jul 8;25(13):7479. doi: 10.3390/ijms25137479.
Visceral adipose tissue (VAT) dysfunction has been recently recognized as a potential contributor to the development of Alzheimer's disease (AD). This study aimed to explore the relationship between VAT metabolism and cerebral glucose metabolism in patients with cognitive impairment. This cross-sectional prospective study included 54 patients who underwent F-fluorodeoxyglucose (F-FDG) brain and torso positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT), and neuropsychological evaluations. VAT metabolism was measured by F-FDG torso PET/CT, and cerebral glucose metabolism was measured using F-FDG brain PET/CT. A voxel-based analysis revealed that the high-VAT-metabolism group exhibited a significantly lower cerebral glucose metabolism in AD-signature regions such as the parietal and temporal cortices. In the volume-of-interest analysis, multiple linear regression analyses with adjustment for age, sex, and white matter hyperintensity volume revealed that VAT metabolism was negatively associated with cerebral glucose metabolism in AD-signature regions. In addition, higher VAT metabolism was correlated with poorer outcomes on cognitive assessments, including the Korean Boston Naming Test, Rey Complex Figure Test immediate recall, and the Controlled Oral Word Association Test. In conclusion, our study revealed significant relationships among VAT metabolism, cerebral glucose metabolism, and cognitive function. This suggests that VAT dysfunction actively contributes to the neurodegenerative processes characteristic of AD, making VAT dysfunction targeting a novel AD therapy approach.
内脏脂肪组织 (VAT) 功能障碍最近被认为是阿尔茨海默病 (AD) 发展的潜在原因。本研究旨在探讨认知障碍患者 VAT 代谢与脑葡萄糖代谢之间的关系。这项横断面前瞻性研究纳入了 54 名接受 F-氟脱氧葡萄糖 (F-FDG) 脑和躯干正电子发射断层扫描/计算机断层扫描 (PET/CT) 以及神经心理学评估的患者。通过 F-FDG 躯干 PET/CT 测量 VAT 代谢，通过 F-FDG 脑 PET/CT 测量脑葡萄糖代谢。体素分析显示，高 VAT 代谢组在 AD 特征区域（如顶叶和颞叶皮质）的脑葡萄糖代谢明显降低。在感兴趣区分析中，对年龄、性别和白质高信号体积进行调整的多元线性回归分析显示，VAT 代谢与 AD 特征区域的脑葡萄糖代谢呈负相关。此外，较高的 VAT 代谢与认知评估的较差结果相关，包括韩国波士顿命名测试、 Rey 复杂图形测试即时回忆和受控口头联想测试。总之，我们的研究揭示了 VAT 代谢、脑葡萄糖代谢和认知功能之间的显著关系。这表明 VAT 功能障碍积极参与 AD 特征的神经退行性过程，使 VAT 功能障碍成为一种新的 AD 治疗方法。
