Activating Brown Fat
According to Dr. Hollstein, batokines probably have diverse effects and influence not only satiety and inflammatory processes but also cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and fatty liver. It is important to research what distinguishes patients who have a lot of brown fat tissue from those who have little.
BAT can be trained and increased through regular cold exposure, which subsequently melts body fat. In a Japanese study, acute cold exposure (19 °C) for 2 hours increased energy consumption. Cold-induced increases in energy consumption correlated strongly with BAT activity, regardless of age and fat-free mass. Daily 2-hour cold exposure at 17 °C for 6 weeks led to a parallel increase in BAT activity.
“You can train brown fat tissue through cold exposure, which also leads to improvements in metabolism and a slight loss of fat mass, but the effect is very small,” explained Dr. Hollstein. The changes in metabolism are significant. Blood lipid levels improve, insulin sensitivity increases, and inflammation values decrease, according to Dr. Hollstein.
Evidence also indicates that capsaicin contained in chili peppers can activate brown fat tissue. However, the effects are small, and so far, there is no evidence that consumption can help with weight loss.
Medications Activate Brown Fat
Because permanent cold and daily consumption of chili peppers are not a real option, especially because the effects on BAT are rather small, research is being conducted to find drugs that activate brown fat tissue.
Preliminary results come from the United States. Mirabegron, originally developed for an overactive bladder, can selectively activate BAT and boost metabolism. A single injection of mirabegron activated BAT and increased energy consumption in the short term. Plasma levels of high-density lipoproteins cholesterol and apolipoprotein A1 increased, as did the total amount of bile acids.
The hormone adiponectin, which has antidiabetic and anti-inflammatory properties, also increased and was 35% higher after the study’s completion. An intravenous glucose tolerance test showed higher insulin sensitivity, glucose efficiency, and insulin secretion.
After 4 weeks of therapy in healthy women, brown fat tissue increased, but the participants did not lose weight or body fat.
New studies have also identified the widely used drug salbutamol as a BAT activator. However, the problem with both drugs is that they have side effects such as a faster heartbeat and increased blood pressure.
As Dr. Hollstein reported, attempts have also been made to transplant brown fat tissue into overweight mice. However, in most cases, the brown fat tissue was converted into white fat.
In Dr. Hollstein’s estimation, BAT offers enormous potential in the treatment of obesity and related metabolic diseases, and its activation could make a significant contribution to combating the obesity epidemic. “I believe that brown fat tissue will occupy us even more in the future. In combination with weight loss injections, increased energy consumption through brown fat tissue could have synergistic effects,” he concluded.
This story was translated from the Medscape German edition using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication. A version of this article appeared on Medscape.com.