Feasibility of using infrared thermal imaging to examine brown adipose tissue in infants aged 18 to 25 months

Oyama, Sakura; Arslanian, Kendall; Lévy, Stéphanie; Ocobock, Cara; Fidow, Ulai T.; Naseri, Take; Hawley, Nicola L.

doi:10.1080/03014460.2021.1985607

Cited by 6 publications

(10 citation statements)

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“…We hypothesized that metabolic rate would increase in Samoan adults upon cold exposure, reflecting observations made in Samoan infants and non‐Polynesian adult samples from cold and temperate‐climate environments (Levy et al, 2018; Niclou & Ocobock, 2022; Ocobock et al, 2022; Oyama et al, 2021). During cold exposure we also expected to see a greater difference in sternum temperatures between ambient room temperature and the experimental cold exposure compared to the difference in supraclavicular temperatures between the two exposures.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…Given that BAT activity affects metabolism in cold‐adapted and temperate climate populations, we predict that BAT activation will also contribute to changes in metabolic rate and heat dissipation in Samoans. There is precedence for this as BAT activity was inferred in Samoan infants, providing a rationale for studying metabolic and thermal capacities of BAT in Samoan adults (Oyama et al, 2021). However, BAT activity significantly decreases throughout childhood among cold and temperate climate populations raising the question whether BAT activity can be identified in warm‐climate adults with little day‐to‐day exposure to cold (Cannon & Nedergaard, 2004).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Given that BAT activity affects metabolism in cold-adapted and temperate climate populations, we predict that BAT activation will also contribute to changes in metabolic rate and heat dissipation in Samoans. There is precedence for this as BAT activity was inferred in Samoan infants, providing a rationale for studying metabolic and thermal capacities of BAT in Samoan adults (Oyama et al, 2021).…”

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confidence: 99%

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When the cold gets under your skin: Evidence for brown adipose tissue activity in Samoan adults

Niclou,

Vesi,

Arorae

et al. 2023

American Journal of Biological Anthropology

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ObjectivesBrown adipose tissue (BAT) is a heat‐producing organ aiding nonshivering thermogenesis (NST) during cold stress. Due to its potential cold‐adaptive role BAT has been predominantly studied in cold and temperate climate populations, but not among warm‐climate adults. This work explores if BAT activity can be inferred in Samoans.Materials and MethodsWe inferred BAT activity by comparing metabolic rate and surface heat dissipation using indirect calorimetry and thermal imaging between room temperature and cold exposure among Samoans (N = 61, females: n = 38) from ‘Upolu Island, Samoa. BAT activity was inferred using ANOVA linear regression models with the variables measured at cold exposure as outcomes. T‐tests were used to compare changes in surface temperature between room temperature and cold exposure.ResultsMetabolic rate significantly increased after cooling. In both the supraclavicular area, a known BAT location, and the sternum, a non‐BAT location, temperatures decreased significantly upon cold exposure. Differences in supraclavicular temperatures between room temperature and cold were significantly smaller than differences in sternum temperatures between exposures. These results suggest that BAT thermogenesis occurred in known BAT‐locations and thus contributed to NST during cooling.ConclusionsThis study adds to our understanding of BAT activity across different populations and climates. Further study may illuminate whether the cold‐adaptive properties of BAT may have played a role in the successful expansion of populations across the globe, including warm‐climate groups.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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When the cold gets under your skin: Evidence for brown adipose tissue activity in Samoan adults

Niclou,

Vesi,

Arorae

et al. 2023

American Journal of Biological Anthropology

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“…Equally compelling is the adoption of infrared thermography (IRT) in recent times as a precise and viable alternative methodology over the ‘gold standard’ PET‐CT scan, given constraints of the latter's high ionizing radiation doses and costs. Unravelling BAT metabolic physiology in live humans has been challenging until recent rigorous validation of IRT against PET 4–7 . Nevertheless, IRT remains a nascent technique with pitfalls unbeknownst to many researchers.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Unravelling BAT metabolic physiology in live humans has been challenging until recent rigorous validation of IRT against PET. 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 Nevertheless, IRT remains a nascent technique with pitfalls unbeknownst to many researchers. Adopting the mindset of a mathematician and theoretical biologist, I shall illustrate the key factors impacting its accuracy which merit an in‐depth scientific scrutiny via a rigorous mathematical proof.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Brown fat detection by infrared thermography—An invaluable research methodology with noteworthy uncertainties confirmed by a mathematical proof

Leow

2022

Endocrino Diabet & Metabol

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Brown adipose tissue (BAT) represents a pivotal scientific renaissance worthy as a strategy for obesity and diabetes since its re‐discovery in adults over a decade ago. Equally compelling is the adoption of infrared thermography (IRT) in recent times as a precise and viable alternative methodology over the ‘gold standard’ PET‐CT scan, given constraints of the latter's high ionizing radiation doses and costs. Unravelling BAT metabolic physiology in live humans has been challenging until recent rigorous validation of IRT against PET. Nevertheless, IRT remains a nascent technique with pitfalls unbeknownst to many researchers. Factors impacting its accuracy merit an in‐depth scientific scrutiny. This article discusses the strengths and pitfalls of IRT as an emergent BAT detection technique and provides a mathematical proof of its limitations that BAT researchers should be cognizant of. Understanding these limitations of IRT can prompt extra efforts to control these uncertainties with greater rigour. In conclusion, this warrants further investigations of improving IRT quality via advanced auto‐segmentation, powerful image processing of thermograms and protocol standardization along the lines of BARCIST 1.0 to minimize errors and enhance the confidence of the global BAT research community in IRT as a robust and reliable BAT research tool.

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Human cold adaptation: An unfinished agenda v2.0

Ocobock

2023

American J Hum Biol

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BackgroundResearch on human extreme cold climate adaptations has benefitted from a recent resurgence since Ted Steegmann laid out his Human Cold Adaptation Agenda in 2007. Human biologists have drastically expanded our knowledge in this area during the last 15 years, but we still have a great deal more work to do to fulfill the cold climate adaptation agenda.MethodsHere, I follow Steegmann's example by providing a review of cold climate adaptations and setting forth a new, expanded agenda.ResultsI review the foundational work on cold climate adaptations including classic Bergmann, Allen, and Thomson rules as well as early work assessing metabolic differences among Indigenous cold climate populations. From there, I discuss some of the groundbreaking work currently taking place on cold climate adaptations such as brown adipose tissue (a heat generating organ), physical activity levels, metabolic rates, and behavioral/cultural mechanisms. Finally, I present a path forward for future research with a focus on some of the basic extreme cold adaptations as well as how human biologists should approach the effects of climate change on human health and well‐being, particularly within a cold climate context.ConclusionThe Arctic has felt the dramatic effects of climate change sooner and more acutely than other parts of the world, making it an ideal location for studying both cold climate adaptations and climate change resilience. Human biologists have a great deal to contribute to the conversation on not only adaptations to extreme cold, but also the ways in which climate change is being embodied by cold climate populations.

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Feasibility of using infrared thermal imaging to examine brown adipose tissue in infants aged 18 to 25 months

Cited by 6 publications

References 45 publications

When the cold gets under your skin: Evidence for brown adipose tissue activity in Samoan adults

When the cold gets under your skin: Evidence for brown adipose tissue activity in Samoan adults

Brown fat detection by infrared thermography—An invaluable research methodology with noteworthy uncertainties confirmed by a mathematical proof

Human cold adaptation: An unfinished agenda v2.0

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