Cold-induced Brown Fat Activation and Hepatic Steatosis

Condition(s) studied

Investigational drug(s) / intervention(s)

Cold exposure: Two hours of mild cold exposure using a water-perfused vest

Study summary

In the recent years, research on brown adipose tissue (BAT) revealed that larger amounts as well as higher activity thereof are associated with a favourable metabolic phenotype. Longitudinal studies which applied recurrent cooling sessions demonstrated a high plasticity of BAT which significantly increased in size and activity during these studies. These changes were accompanied by improvements in body fat mass as well as insulin sensitivity. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is estimated to advance to the primary cause of liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma in the following years. Besides predisposing genetic and possibly nutritional factors, the insulin resistance syndrome and obesity are the main factors contributing to this excessive hepatic lipid accumulation.

The aim of this study is to investigate whether BAT recruitment via cold-acclimation results in decreased hepatic lipid content in overweight/obese patients with NAFLD.

Eligibility

Primary outcome measure(s)

• Hepatic lipid content (%) — Six weeks
  Magnetic resonance imaging-proton density fat fraction

Trial sites (1)

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