Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide (NAD+) Metabolism in Human Brown Adipose Tissue
A fully functional brown fat helps maintain a healthy weight and decreases the risk of metabolic diseases such as type II diabetes (T2DM). Unfortunately, in human adults, the functionality of brown fat declines with age, and it is one of the reasons for gaining unhealthy weight, particularly around the waistline (central obesity). Currently, scientists do not clearly understand the reasons for the decline in brown fat functionality. It is possible that the decline in the availability of the molecule Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide (NAD+), which is central to several metabolic processes, plays a role in the decline in brown fat metabolism. This project will clarify whether NAD+-based molecular-targeted therapies for the enhancement of whole-body insulin sensitivity and brown fat metabolism will be successful in adult humans, which will eventually be an important target for reducing the development of obesity and its comorbidities such as T2DM.
• Willingness to provide informed consent to participate in the BATNAD study
• Must be able to read and speak English/Finnish/Swedish well enough to completely understand the instructions and provide informed consent
• Age 30-55 (sedentary lifestyle)
• BMI = 18-25 kg/m2 (normal-weight subjects)
• BMI ≥ 28 kg/m2 and waist circumference more than 100 cm in men and more than 90 cm in women (subjects with obesity)