Excess belly fat is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and, according to a recent study, Alzheimer's as well. Abdominal obesity is associated with brain changes that favor Alzheimer's, 15 years before the onset of dementia symptoms.
Various studies in the past have linked obesity and overweight to conditions such as brain atrophy (ie permanent reduction of brain tissue) and a higher risk of dementia, but the new work focuses on a specific type of tissue adipose, visceral fat, which is found in and around the internal organs of the abdomen.
Researchers from the Radiological Society of North America, who presented their discovery during their annual meeting, studied the relationship between this type of fat and parameters such as brain volume on MRI, or the presence of protein deposits. amyloid beta or tau highlighted by PET (positron emission tomography) examination. Accumulations of these two proteins are typical of the early and late stages of Alzheimer's disease.
The scientists included 54 healthy volunteers between the ages of 40 and 60 with an average body mass index (a parameter that relates body mass and height) of 32 (moderate obesity). The volunteers underwent an abdominal MRI assessment of visceral fat in addition to the brain scans mentioned above.
People who had a higher percentage of abdominal fat, rather than subcutaneous or peripheral fat, had greater amyloid deposition in the medial region of the superior parietal cortex, one of the first parts of the brain affected by Alzheimer's amyloid pathology. The association was stronger in men. Additionally, higher levels of abdominal fat were also generally associated with more pronounced inflammatory processes in the brain.
Neuroimaging expert at Washington University in St. Louis and study author Mahsa Dolatshah, stated that: “Inflammatory secretions produced by visceral or abdominal fat – as opposed to the protective effects of subcutaneous fat – may cause inflammation in the brain, a major mechanism contributing to Alzheimer's disease. All this is already visible around the age of 50, 15 years before the typical onset of the disease. (A2 Televizion)
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