Access

News and Views

Nature Medicine 11, 1048 - 1049 (2005)
doi:10.1038/nm1005-1048

Fat, keeping the heart healthy?

Koh-ichi Yuhki1, Jun-ichi Kawabe1 & Fumitaka Ushikubi1

  1. The authors are in the Department of Pharmacology, Asahikawa Medical College, Asahikawa 078-8510, Japan. e-mail: ushikubi@asahikawa-med.ac.jp

The hormone adiponectin is secreted from fat cells and increases sensitivity to insulin in muscle and liver; adiponectin increases resistance to metabolic disorders and, it now appears, may also protect heart tissue when blood flow is restricted (pages 1096–1103).

The prevalence of obesity is increasing worldwide, caused mainly by a modern sedentary lifestyle and a high-calorie diet. In addition to being the most important energy-storing organ, adipose tissue is now recognized as an important endocrine organ.

$rb.Type.Code