The prevalence of the metabolic syndrome has increased in tandem with that of obesity. The metabolic syndrome is associated with structural and functional cerebral damage. A new study confirms the association between the metabolic syndrome and reduced brain volume in the absence of diabetes mellitus. Here, we highlight how vascular dysfunction potentially contributes to this brain damage.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Relevant articles
Open Access articles citing this article.
-
Alterations in white matter volume and integrity in obesity and type 2 diabetes
Metabolic Brain Disease Open Access 27 January 2016
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$209.00 per year
only $17.42 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
References
Flegal, K. M., Carroll, M. D., Kit, B. K. & Ogden, C. L. Prevalence of obesity and trends in the distribution of body mass index among US adults, 1999–2010. JAMA 307, 491–497 (2012).
National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) expert panel on detection, evaluation, and treatment of high blood cholesterol in adults (Adult Treatment Panel III). Third report of the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) expert panel on detection, evaluation, and treatment of high blood cholesterol in adults (Adult Treatment Panel III) final report. Circulation 106, 3143–3421 (2002).
Ervin, R. B. Prevalence of metabolic syndrome among adults 20 years of age and over, by sex, age, race and ethnicity, and body mass index: United States, 2003–2006. Natl Health Stat. Report 5, 1–7 (2009).
Tiehuis, A. M. et al. Metabolic syndrome, prediabetes, and brain abnormalities on MRI in patients with manifest arterial disease: the SMART–MR study. Diabetes Care http://dx.doi.org/10.2337/dc14–0154.
Dekaban, A. S. Changes in brain weights during the span of human life: relation of brain weights to body heights and body weights. Ann. Neurol. 4, 345–356 (1978).
Petrovitch, H. et al. Midlife blood pressure and neuritic plaques, neurofibrillary tangles, and brain weight at death: the HAAS. Honolulu–Asia aging study. Neurobiol. Aging 21, 57–62 (2000).
Yates, K. F., Sweat, V., Yau, P. L., Turchiano, M. M. & Convit, A. Impact of metabolic syndrome on cognition and brain: a selected review of the literature. Arterioscler. Thromb. Vasc. Biol. 32, 2060–2067 (2012).
Yau, P. L., Castro, M. G., Tagani, A., Tsui, W. H. & Convit, A. Obesity and metabolic syndrome and functional and structural brain impairments in adolescence. Pediatrics 130, e856–e864 (2012).
Drake, C. T. & Iadecola, C. The role of neuronal signaling in controlling cerebral blood flow. Brain Lang. 102, 141–152 (2007).
Convit, A. Links between cognitive impairment in insulin resistance: an explanatory model. Neurobiol. Aging 26 (Suppl. 1), 31–35 (2005).
Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge funding from the NIH (DKDK083537).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing financial interests.
PowerPoint slides
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Rusinek, H., Convit, A. Cerebral damage in obesity-associated metabolic syndrome. Nat Rev Endocrinol 10, 642–644 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrendo.2014.141
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrendo.2014.141
This article is cited by
-
Quercetin, Engelitin and Caffeic Acid of Smilax china L. Polyphenols, Stimulate 3T3-L1 Adipocytes to Brown-like Adipocytes Via β3-AR/AMPK Signaling Pathway
Plant Foods for Human Nutrition (2022)
-
Alterations in white matter volume and integrity in obesity and type 2 diabetes
Metabolic Brain Disease (2016)
