BROWN FAT

Location of Brown Fat in Adults and Infants.

Brown fat tissue

“Fat cells that work like muscle cells do”

It is not conincidential that the main site of BAT are, neck (thyroid, parathyroid) mediastin ( heart), (back) suprarenals.  This very specialized tissue is around the main high “metabolic burners”, this is not only crucial when surviving is a priority issue, like newborns, but in healthy people, or patients with hypothyroidism in which BAT is little activated, in contrast with hyperthyroid and in some patients with cancer.
“functional brown adipose tissue is prevalent in adult humans, with a significant female predominance. The amount of brown adipose tissue is inversely correlated with body-mass index, especially in older people”

Identification and Importance of Brown Adipose Tissue in Adult Humans A.M. April 9, 2009  Vol. 360 No. 15 Cypess and Others NEJ  


CONCLUSIONS

Defined regions of functionally active brown adipose tissue are present in adult humans, are more frequent in women than in men, and may be quantified noninvasively with the use of 18F-FDG PET–CT. Most important, the amount of brown adipose tissue is inversely correlated with body-mass index, especially in older people, suggesting a potential role of brown adipose tissue in adult human metabolism.