posted 11/01/02
Visceral fat removal can halt a decrease in insulin action and
delay the onset of diabetes. researchers report in the October issue of
Diabetes.
They propose that "specific interventions to
reduce intra-abdominal fat could vastly improve insulin action as we age."
Dr. Nir Barzilai of Albert Einstein College of
Medicine, the Bronx, New York, and colleagues note that age-dependent changes in
insulin action and body fat distribution are risk factors for the development of
type 2 diabetes.
Furthermore, they say, "among various body fat
depots, the amount of visceral fat (VF) best correlates with insulin sensitivity
in animal models and in humans." To investigate further, the researchers studied
the effect of VF removal in aging (20 month-old) Brown Norway rats and in Zucker
Diabetic Fatty rats.
Peripheral and hepatic insulin action, which had
been markedly impaired in the Norway rats, was restored to the level seen in
young rats. In the Zucker rats, VF removal prevented a progressive decrease in
insulin action and delayed the onset of diabetes. There was also a marked
decrease in tumor necrosis factor-alpha and in leptin in subcutaneous adipose
tissue.
Dr. Barzilai stated that "while we didn't know if
the metabolic changes of aging cause change in fat distribution, or that changes
in fat distribution cause the metabolic changes of aging--this study suggests
the latter."
Although surgical removal would hardly be an answer in humans, because of potential intestinal injury, he added that he and his colleagues are investigating "the mechanisms by which fat is distributed--through the action of the hormone leptin--and hope to develop a drug therapy."
Source: Diabetes In Control Dot Com:
Diabetes 2002;51:2951-2958.
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