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(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- You may have heard people who have extra weight around their waist may be more at risk of heart disease. Now we may know why.
A new study from the University of Michigan looked at belly fat -- also known as visceral fat -- in mice. It finds a link between inflammation around the cells of visceral fat deposits and the artery-hardening process of atherosclerosis.
Results also show a widely used diabetes drug can ease that inflammation and protect against further damage to the arteries.
Researchers looked at ApoE-negative mice -- developed to be especially prone to high cholesterol and hardened arteries. The mice were divided into three groups -- two got fat transplants from normal mice; one did not, but had the same operation that would be used to implant the fat in other mice. Some mice got visceral fat transplants, which forms around the major organs; others got transplants of subcutaneous fat, found just under the skin throughout the body.
The study found the mice that received the visceral fat transplants developed atherosclerosis at a much faster rate. Those with subcutaneous fat did not have an increase in atherosclerosis even though they had increased inflammation. And the mice that had the “sham” operations did not develop inflammation or increased atherosclerosis.
When the mice were treated with pioglitazone -- a drug with an anti-inflammatory effect often used to treat diabetes -- it reduced atherosclerosis in the group with visceral fat transplants but had no effect in the other mice.
The scientists caution it is too early to apply their findings to humans with belly fat. But they hope more research will reveal more about this dangerous link, how to reverse it, and perhaps how to diagnose it early using blood tests.
SOURCE: Circulation, published online Jan. 22, 2008
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