Differences in Sympathetic Nervous Stimulation of Brown Adipose Tissue Between the Young and Old, and the Lean and Obese.

Unlabelled: Brown adipose tissue (BAT) could facilitate weight loss by increasing energy expenditure. Cold is a potent stimulator of BAT, activating BAT primarily through the sympathetic nervous system (SNS). Older or overweight individuals have less metabolic BAT activity than the lean and young, but the role of the SNS in this decline is unknown.

(18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose uptake in brown adipose tissue during insulin-induced hypoglycemia and mild cold exposure in non-diabetic adults.

Objective: Hypoglycemia is associated with increased heat production and, despite of this, hypothermia. Heat production is likely to be mediated by sympathetic innervation. Brown adipose tissue is activated by cold exposure and stimulated by the sympathetic nervous system.

[Lifestyle-recommendations on weight loss in type 2 diabetes--useful, or not?].

Weight loss is recommended for overweight or obese patients with type 2 diabetes on the basis of short-term studies, but the long-term effects of weight loss on cardiovascular disease are unknown. The recently published Look AHEAD (Action for health in diabetes) study investigated the 10-year effect of an intensive lifestyle intervention designed to achieve weight loss on cardiovascular morbidity and mortality among overweight or obese adults with type 2 diabetes. In this commentary, we discuss the results and clinical implications of this study.

Intensive lifestyle intervention in general practice to prevent type 2 diabetes among 18 to 60-year-old South Asians: 1-year effects on the weight status and metabolic profile of participants in a randomized controlled trial.

Aim: To study 1-year effectiveness of an intensive, culturally targeted lifestyle intervention in general practice for weight status and metabolic profile of South-Asians at risk of type 2 diabetes.

Methods: 536 South-Asians at risk of type 2 diabetes were randomized to an intervention (n = 283) or control (n = 253) group. The intervention, which was targeted culturally to the South-Asian population, consisted of individual lifestyle counselling, a family session, cooking classes, and supervised physical activity programme.

Screening South Asians for type 2 diabetes and prediabetes: (1) comparing oral glucose tolerance and haemoglobin A1c test results and (2) comparing the two sets of metabolic profiles of individuals diagnosed with these two tests.

Background: The glycated haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) level may be used for screening for type 2 diabetes and prediabetes instead of a more burdensome oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). However, among the high-risk South Asian population, little is known about the overlap of the methods or about the metabolic profiles of those disconcordantly diagnosed.

Methods: We included 944 South Asians (18-60 years old), whom we screened with the HbA1c level and the OGTT in The Hague, the Netherlands.

Combining 123I-metaiodobenzylguanidine SPECT/CT and 18F-FDG PET/CT for the assessment of brown adipose tissue activity in humans during cold exposure.

Unlabelled: Brown adipose tissue (BAT) has become a focus of research in the hope of finding a new target to fight obesity. Metabolic BAT activity can be visualized with (18)F-FDG PET/CT. Furthermore, the sympathetic innervation of BAT can be visualized with the radiolabeled norepinephrine analog (123)I-metaiodobenzylguanidine ((123)I-MIBG).

The Diabetes Pearl: Diabetes biobanking in The Netherlands.

Background: Type 2 diabetes is associated with considerable comorbidity and severe complications, which reduce quality of life of the patients and require high levels of healthcare. The Diabetes Pearl is a large cohort of patients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, covering different geographical areas in the Netherlands. The aim of the study is to create a research infrastructure that will allow the study of risk factors, including biomarkers and genetic determinants for severe diabetes complications.

Ethnic differences in weight loss and diabetes remission after bariatric surgery: a meta-analysis.

Objective: It has been postulated that the effectiveness of bariatric surgery varies between ethnic groups. However, data regarding this topic are inconclusive, as most studies included few patients from minority groups. We conducted a meta-analysis to determine the difference in percentage of excess weight loss (%EWL) 1-2 years after bariatric surgery in people of African and Caucasian descent.

Fasting and postprandial activity of brown adipose tissue in healthy men.

Unlabelled: The role of brown adipose tissue (BAT) in adult metabolism is poorly understood. This study aimed to examine the differential effects of an overnight fast and the postprandial state on BAT activity.

Methods: We included 10 healthy, lean male volunteers.