VetSRev
Database of veterinary systematic reviews
Database of veterinary systematic reviews
Obesity (Silver Spring) (2019) 27: 1932–1949
DOI: 10.1002/oby.22635
OBJECTIVE: Brown adipose tissue (BAT) is a thermogenic tissue with potential as a therapeutic target in the treatment of obesity and related metabolic disorders. The most used technique for quantifying human BAT activity is the measurement of (18) F-fluorodeoxyglucose uptake via a positron emission tomography/computed tomography scan following exposure to cold. However, several studies have indicated the measurement of the supraclavicular skin temperature (SST) by infrared thermography (IRT) to be a less invasive alternative. This work reviews the state of the art of this latter method as a means of determining BAT activity in humans. METHODS: The data sources for this review were PubMed, Web of Science, and EBSCOhost (SPORTdiscus), and eligible studies were those conducted in humans. RESULTS: In most studies in which participants were first cooled, an increase in IRT-measured SST was noted. However, only 5 of 24 such studies also involved a nuclear technique that confirmed increased activity in BAT, and only 2 took into account the thickness of the fat layer when measuring SST by IRT. CONCLUSIONS: More work is needed to understand the involvement of tissues other than BAT in determining IRT-measured SST; at present, IRT cannot determine whether any increase in SST is due to increased BAT activity.
Jimenez-Pavon, D., Corral-Perez, J., Sánchez-Infantes, D., Villarroya, F., Ruiz, J. R., & Martinez-Tellez, B. (2019). Infrared Thermography for Estimating Supraclavicular Skin Temperature and BAT Activity in Humans: A Systematic Review. Obesity (Silver Spring), 27(12), 1932–1949. https://doi.org/10.1002/oby.22635 Male, Adult, Female, Humans, Middle Aged, Adolescent, Child, Child, Preschool, Adipose Tissue, Brown/*metabolism, Prospective Studies, Infrared Rays/*therapeutic use, Skin Temperature/*physiology, Thermography/*methods