Abdominal fat and Alzheimer’s are related: what you should know
It is possible that in people in their 50s, visceral fat, which surrounds the internal organs of the abdomen, is related to brain changes that could indicate future dementia.
A recent study published by the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) has shed light on an unexpected connection between visceral fat hidden deep in the abdomen and the increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease in middle-aged people.
The research, led by Mahsa Dolatshahi, MD, a postdoctoral researcher at the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology at Washington University in St. Louis, highlights the importance of this discovery and its potential impact on future treatments.
The study, published in the journal Aging and Disease and presented at the RSNA annual meeting, examined brain MRIs and PET scans of 54 cognitively healthy participants between the ages of 40 and 60.
The focus was on visceral fat surrounding the internal organs of the abdomen, revealing significant associations with brain changes that could indicate future dementia up to 15 years before symptoms appear.
Dr. Dolatshahi highlighted the uniqueness of her research by stating that “no previous study has linked a specific type of fat to the actual Alzheimer’s disease protein in cognitively normal people.”
Visceral and subcutaneous fat were analyzed in detail, especially in terms of Alzheimer’s amyloid pathology, providing valuable information about how the anatomical distribution of body fat may affect the risk of the disease.
Abdominal fat and its silent effect on the brain
One of the most striking findings was the correlation between visceral fat and higher levels of amyloid in the precuneus cortex, a brain region that often shows the first signs of Alzheimer’s disease. Additionally, those with more visceral fat exhibited greater inflammation in the brain, with men being more prone to this correlation than women.
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Dr. Marc Siegel, clinical professor of medicine at New York University Langone Medical Center, commented on the relationship between belly fat and inflammation: “This is because belly fat is full of inflammation.”
He explained that cytokines and interleukin 6, inflammatory proteins present in abdominal fat, not only cause heart disease but there is also growing evidence that this inflammation contributes to neurodegenerative diseases and can accelerate Alzheimer’s.
Despite the relevance of these findings, Dr. Raji, one of the researchers, pointed out the limitations of the study, including the small sample size and its cross-sectional nature. However, he expressed the intention to expand the research by recruiting more participants and conducting a longitudinal study in the future.
The potential impact of these findings on public health is significant, as the Alzheimer’s Association estimates that more than six million Americans are living with the disease, it’s predicted that by 2050, this number will be close to 13 million.
With one in five women and one in 10 men developing the common form of dementia during their lifetime, awareness of the relationship between the body’s health and the risk of Alzheimer’s disease could lead to future advances in prevention. and treatment.
