Hidden belly fat could signal Alzheimer’s risk 15 years before symptoms appear, study finds
Even if you can’t see it, fat buried deep in the belly can increase your risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
This is what a study published Monday by the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) reveals.
Visceral fat, which surrounds the internal organs of the belly, has been linked to brain changes that could indicate future dementia in people as young as 50, up to 15 years before symptoms appear, such as ‘indicates a press release from the RSNA.
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The findings, published in the journal Aging and Disease, will be presented at the RSNA annual meeting next week.
Researchers analyzed brain MRIs and PET scans of 54 “cognitively healthy” participants aged 40 to 60, focusing on any inflammation and “plaques and tangles” typically seen in Alzheimer’s patients .
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Fat buried deep in the belly may increase the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, according to a study published by the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). (iStock)
They also assessed the body mass index (BMI) of middle-aged adults, obesity levelsblood sugar and abdominal adipose tissue.
“Even though other studies have linked BMI to brain atrophy or even a higher risk of dementia, no previous studies have linked a specific type of fat to the disease protein Alzheimer’s disease in cognitively normal people,” said study author Mahsa Dolatshahi, MD, a postdoctoral researcher at the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology (MIR) at the Washington University School of Medicine. in St. Louisin the press release.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“Similar studies have not investigated the differential role of visceral and subcutaneous fat, particularly in terms of Alzheimer’s amyloid pathology, from midlife onwards.”
Researchers found that people with more visceral fat also had higher levels of amyloid in the precuneus cortex, the region of the brain that typically shows the first signs of Alzheimer’s disease.
They also had greater brain inflammation.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Before this research, no previous studies had linked a specific type of fat to the actual Alzheimer’s disease protein in cognitively normal people. (iStock)
Men were more likely to show this correlation than women.
“We discovered the hidden link between fat biomarkers and Alzheimer’s in middle-aged people – between 40 and 50 years old – an average of 15 years before the first symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease appear,” added Raji.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Visceral fat can also lead to inflammation in the brain, one of the main mechanisms contributing to Alzheimer’s disease, researchers say.
Looking ahead, we hope that these findings can serve as a springboard toward new targeted treatments.
More than six million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. (iStock)
“We discovered the hidden link between fat biomarkers and Alzheimer’s in middle-aged people – between 40 and 50 years old – an average of 15 years before the first symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease appear,” added Raji.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Visceral fat can also lead to inflammation in the brain, one of the main mechanisms contributing to Alzheimer’s disease, researchers say.
Looking ahead, we hope that these findings can serve as a springboard toward new targeted treatments.
Researchers analyzed brain MRIs and PET scans of 54 “cognitively healthy” participants aged 40 to 60, focusing on any inflammation and “plaques and tangles” typically seen in Alzheimer’s patients . (iStock)
“By going beyond body mass index by better characterizing the anatomical distribution of body fat on MRI, we now better understand why this factor may increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease,” Raji said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Dr. Marc Siegel, clinical professor of medicine at Langone Medical Center of New York and Fox News medical contributor, was not involved in the study but said the results met his expectations.
“It’s because belly fat is filled with inflammation,” he told Fox News Digital.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“Cytokines and interleukin 6 (inflammatory proteins) not only lead to cardiac disease“But there is growing evidence that this inflammation also leads to neurodegenerative disease and poor brain cell function, and can accelerate Alzheimer’s disease,” Siegel added.
“This study strengthens this association.”
The main limitation of the research is the small sample size and the fact that it is a cross-sectional study, Raji noted.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}One in five women and one in ten men will develop Alzheimer’s disease during their lifetime. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, file)
“We are recruiting more participants for this study and would like to do a longitudinal version of this work in the future,” he said.
We hope that the research will help raise awareness that body and brain health are linked, Raji added.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}More than six million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.
This number is expected to approach 13 million by 2050.
One in five women and one in ten men will develop a common form of dementia in their lifetime.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}For more health articles, visit www.foxnews.com/health.
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