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Tweedale M, Morys F, Pastor-Bernier A, Azizi H, Tremblay C, Dagher A. Obesity and diffusion-weighted imaging of subcortical grey matter in young and older adults. Appetite 2024; 200:107527. [PMID: 38797235 DOI: 10.1016/j.appet.2024.107527] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2024] [Revised: 05/21/2024] [Accepted: 05/24/2024] [Indexed: 05/29/2024]
Abstract
Obesity and hypothalamic inflammation are causally related. It is unclear whether this neuroinflammation precedes or results from obesity. Animal studies show that an increase in food intake can lead to hypothalamic inflammation, but hypothalamic inflammation can create a feedback loop that further increases food intake. Internal and external factors mediate patterns of food intake and how it can affect the hypothalamus. Measures of water diffusivity in magnetic resonance imaging of the brain such as fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), radial diffusivity (RD), axial diffusivity (AD) are associated with grey matter inflammation. Here, we investigated how those measures are associated with obesity-related variables in groups of young and older adults. We found relationships between decreased diffusivity and obesity markers in young adults. In older adults, obesity and comorbidities were also related to significant changes in diffusivity. Here, diffusivity was strongly associated with body mass index (BMI) and blood levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) in multiple subcortical regions, rather than only the hypothalamus. Our results suggest that diffusivity measures can be used to investigate obesity-associated changes in the brain that can potentially reflect neuroinflammation. The connection seen between subcortical inflammation and obesity opens the conversation on preventative interventions needed to reduce the effects of obesity at all stages in life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Max Tweedale
- Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
| | - Filip Morys
- Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Canada.
| | | | - Houman Azizi
- Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
| | | | - Alain Dagher
- Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
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Rosberg A, Merisaari H, Lewis JD, Hashempour N, Lukkarinen M, Rasmussen JM, Scheinin NM, Karlsson L, Karlsson H, Tuulari JJ. Associations between maternal pre-pregnancy BMI and infant striatal mean diffusivity. BMC Med 2024; 22:140. [PMID: 38528552 DOI: 10.1186/s12916-024-03340-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2023] [Accepted: 03/05/2024] [Indexed: 03/27/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND It is well-established that parental obesity is a strong risk factor for offspring obesity. Further, a converging body of evidence now suggests that maternal weight profiles may affect the developing offspring's brain in a manner that confers future obesity risk. Here, we investigated how pre-pregnancy maternal weight status influences the reward-related striatal areas of the offspring's brain during in utero development. METHODS We used diffusion tensor imaging to quantify the microstructure of the striatal brain regions of interest in neonates (N = 116 [66 males, 50 females], mean gestational weeks at birth [39.88], SD = 1.14; at scan [43.56], SD = 1.05). Linear regression was used to test the associations between maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) and infant striatal mean diffusivity. RESULTS High maternal pre-pregnancy BMI was associated with higher mean MD values in the infant's left caudate nucleus. Results remained unchanged after the adjustment for covariates. CONCLUSIONS In utero exposure to maternal adiposity might have a growth-impairing impact on the mean diffusivity of the infant's left caudate nucleus. Considering the involvement of the caudate nucleus in regulating eating behavior and food-related reward processing later in life, this finding calls for further investigations to define the prognostic relevance of early-life caudate nucleus development and weight trajectories of the offspring.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aylin Rosberg
- FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Centre, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland.
- Department of Psychiatry, Turku University Hospital and University of Turku, Turku, Finland.
| | - Harri Merisaari
- FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Centre, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
- Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland
| | - John D Lewis
- The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Niloofar Hashempour
- FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Centre, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Minna Lukkarinen
- FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Centre, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
- Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Turku University Hospital and University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | | | - Noora M Scheinin
- FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Centre, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Turku and Satakunta Wellbeing Services County, Turku, Finland
| | - Linnea Karlsson
- FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Centre, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
- Centre for Population Health Research, Turku University Hospital and University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Hasse Karlsson
- FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Centre, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
- Department of Psychiatry, Turku University Hospital and University of Turku, Turku, Finland
- Centre for Population Health Research, Turku University Hospital and University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Jetro J Tuulari
- FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Centre, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
- Department of Psychiatry, Turku University Hospital and University of Turku, Turku, Finland
- Turku Collegium for Science, Medicine and Technology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
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Pourdashti S, Faridi N, Monem-Homaie F, Yaghooti SH, Soroush A, Bathaie SZ. The size of human subcutaneous adipocytes, but not adiposity, is associated with inflammation, endoplasmic reticulum stress, and insulin resistance markers. Mol Biol Rep 2023; 50:5755-5765. [PMID: 37219669 PMCID: PMC10289932 DOI: 10.1007/s11033-023-08460-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2023] [Accepted: 04/13/2023] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The fat storage capacity of the adipose tissue prevents ectopic lipid deposition, which is one of the risk factors for metabolic abnormalities in obesity. This capacity depends upon the adipogenic gene expression and blood supply provision for tissue expansion through angiogenesis. Here, we studied hyperplasia/hypertrophy of subcutaneous white adipose tissue (scWAT) concerning adipogenic gene expression, angiogenic status, and metabolic parameters in non-obese and different classes of obese individuals. METHODS The scWAT samples were collected from 80 individuals. The anthropometric parameters, adipose tissue cell size, serum biochemistry, ER stress-induced XBP1 splicing, PPARγ2, SFRP1, WNT10B, and VEGFA gene expression levels were studied. In addition, the CD31 level was investigated by Western blotting. RESULTS The obese individuals had greater waist circumferences and higher serum TG, TC, insulin, and HOMA-IR than the non-obese group. However, the largest adipocyte size, increased TNFα, insulin, and HOMA-IR, and the highest expression level of sXBP1, WNT10B, and VEGFA were observed in Class I obese individuals. It means that inflammation, insulin resistance, and ER stress accompany hypertrophic scWAT adipocytes with limited adipose tissue expansion ability. Furthermore, the Class II + III obese individuals showed high PPARγ2 expression and CD31 levels. There is adipogenesis through hyperplasia in this group. The SFRP1 expression was not significantly different in the studied groups. CONCLUSION The results suggest that the capability of adipogenesis with inadequate angiogenesis is related to the metabolic status, inflammation, and ER function. Therefore, therapeutic strategies that support both angiogenesis and adipogenesis can effectively prevent the complications of obesity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Pourdashti
- Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University (TMU), P.O. Box: 14155-331, Tehran, Iran
| | - Nassim Faridi
- Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University (TMU), P.O. Box: 14155-331, Tehran, Iran
| | - Forouzandeh Monem-Homaie
- Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University (TMU), P.O. Box: 14155-331, Tehran, Iran
| | - S Hamid Yaghooti
- Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University (TMU), P.O. Box: 14155-331, Tehran, Iran
| | - Ahmadreza Soroush
- Obesity and Eating Habits Research Center, Endocrinology and Metabolism Molecular- Cellular Sciences Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - S Zahra Bathaie
- Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University (TMU), P.O. Box: 14155-331, Tehran, Iran.
- UCLA-DOE Institute, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), CA, USA.
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Brain functional and structural magnetic resonance imaging of obesity and weight loss interventions. Mol Psychiatry 2023; 28:1466-1479. [PMID: 36918706 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-023-02025-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2022] [Revised: 02/26/2023] [Accepted: 02/28/2023] [Indexed: 03/16/2023]
Abstract
Obesity has tripled over the past 40 years to become a major public health issue, as it is linked with increased mortality and elevated risk for various physical and neuropsychiatric illnesses. Accumulating evidence from neuroimaging studies suggests that obesity negatively affects brain function and structure, especially within fronto-mesolimbic circuitry. Obese individuals show abnormal neural responses to food cues, taste and smell, resting-state activity and functional connectivity, and cognitive tasks including decision-making, inhibitory-control, learning/memory, and attention. In addition, obesity is associated with altered cortical morphometry, a lowered gray/white matter volume, and impaired white matter integrity. Various interventions and treatments including bariatric surgery, the most effective treatment for obesity in clinical practice, as well as dietary, exercise, pharmacological, and neuromodulation interventions such as transcranial direct current stimulation, transcranial magnetic stimulation and neurofeedback have been employed and achieved promising outcomes. These interventions and treatments appear to normalize hyper- and hypoactivations of brain regions involved with reward processing, food-intake control, and cognitive function, and also promote recovery of brain structural abnormalities. This paper provides a comprehensive literature review of the recent neuroimaging advances on the underlying neural mechanisms of both obesity and interventions, in the hope of guiding development of novel and effective treatments.
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Takeuchi H, Kawashima R. Effects of Body Mass Index on Brain Structures in the Elderly: Longitudinal Analyses. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne) 2022; 13:824661. [PMID: 35721742 PMCID: PMC9204255 DOI: 10.3389/fendo.2022.824661] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2021] [Accepted: 04/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The relationship between obesity and neurocognitive consequences is complex. Here we investigated associations between body mass index (BMI) and subsequent changes in brain structures, cognitive changes, and the onset of dementia after adjustment of a wide range of potential confounding variables using a large prospective cohort data of UK Biobank. After correcting for confounding factors, higher BMI was associated with greater retention in visuospatial memory performance (decline in error numbers) [beta = -0.019 (CI:-0.027~-0.016), N = 39191], increase in depression tendency scores [beta = 0.036(0.027~0.045)] as well as decreased risk of incident dementia [increasing BMI by 1 is associated with HR of 0.981 (CI:0.969~0.992), N = 398782], but not changes in fluid intelligence or reaction time. Whole brain multiple regression analyses (volumetric analyses: N = 1253, other analyses: N = 1241) revealed positive associations between BMI and subsequent changes in regional gray matter volume (rGMV) in multiple areas, regional white matter volume changes in widespread white matter (WM) tracts, fractional anisotropy changes in several tracts, and intracellular volume fraction (ICVF) and orientation dispersion (OD) in widespread areas, and isotropic volume fraction (ISOVF) in a few areas, and negative associations between BMI and subsequent changes in rGMV in the bilateral medial temporal lobe areas, mean, axial and radial diffusivity, and ISOVF in widespread areas. These results are mostly consistent with the view that less BMI precedes greater neurocognitive aging or atrophy, with a few exceptions including OD findings and the rGMV finding of the medial temporal lobes as most of significant longitudinal associations of higher BMI were opposite to those seen in higher age and dementia. Future epidemiological studies should consider separating effects of higher BMI itself from potential confounders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hikaru Takeuchi
- Division of Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
- *Correspondence: Hikaru Takeuchi,
| | - Ryuta Kawashima
- Division of Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
- Smart Aging Research Center, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
- Department of Advanced Brain Science, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
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Samara A, Li Z, Rutlin J, Raji CA, Sun P, Song SK, Hershey T, Eisenstein SA. Nucleus accumbens microstructure mediates the relationship between obesity and eating behavior in adults. Obesity (Silver Spring) 2021; 29:1328-1337. [PMID: 34227242 PMCID: PMC8928440 DOI: 10.1002/oby.23201] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2021] [Revised: 04/20/2021] [Accepted: 04/21/2021] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Basal ganglia regions are part of the brain's reward-processing networks and are implicated in the neurobiology of obesity and eating disorders. This study examines basal ganglia microstructural properties in adults with and without obesity. METHODS Diffusion basis spectrum imaging (DBSI) images were analyzed to obtain putative imaging markers of neuroinflammation. Relationships between basal ganglia DBSI metrics and reward sensitivity and eating behaviors were also explored. RESULTS A total of 46 participants (25 people with obesity; aged 20-40 years; 37 women) were included. Relative to the people in the normal-weight group, people with obesity had smaller caudate and larger nucleus accumbens (NAcc) volumes (p < 0.05) and lower DBSI fiber fraction (reflecting apparent axonal/dendrite density) in NAcc and putamen, higher DBSI nonrestricted fraction (reflecting tissue edema) in NAcc and caudate, and higher DBSI restricted fraction (reflecting tissue cellularity) in putamen (p ≤ 0.01, all). Increased emotional and reward eating behaviors were related to lower NAcc axonal/dendrite density and greater tissue edema (p ≤ 0.002). The relationships between emotional eating and adiposity measures were mediated by NAcc microstructure. CONCLUSIONS These findings provide evidence that microstructural alterations in basal ganglia relate to obesity and insights linking NAcc microstructure and eating behavior in adults.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amjad Samara
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Zhaolong Li
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Jerrel Rutlin
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Cyrus A. Raji
- Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
- Department of Neurology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Peng Sun
- Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Sheng-Kwei Song
- Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Tamara Hershey
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
- Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
- Department of Neurology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Sarah A. Eisenstein
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
- Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
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