Epicardial fat thickness: relationship with plasma visfatin and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 levels in visceral obesity.
OBJECTIVE
Epicardial fat (EF), a true visceral adipose tissue (VAT) deposited around the heart, is considered as possible cardiovascular risk indicator, in view of its ability to produce and release several inflammatory adipo-cytokines. It is still not known whether increased cardiac adiposity is related to increased inflammatory adipo-cytokines in obesity. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether echocardiographic EF thickness, an indicator of cardiac adiposity, is related to circulating levels of inflammatory adipo-cytokines such as visfatin and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) in visceral obesity.


RESULTS
EF thickness (measured by echocardiography), visfatin, PAI-1 antigen and some inflammatory markers were studied in 42 women, 27 of them severely obese (OB) (BMI 43.5+/-4.8 kg/m(2)) but with no apparent complications, and 15 normal-weight controls. Abdominal VAT in the OB was assessed by computed tomography. OB had thicker EF and higher visfatin and PAI-1 antigen concentrations than controls (P<0.0001). EF thickness, log-visfatin and log-PAI-1 antigen concentrations directly correlated with VAT (P<0.0001). Log-visfatin and log-PAI-1 antigen were correlated with EF thickness even after adjusting for indices of fat distribution (P<0.01 and P<0.001 respectively). Moreover, when dividing OB on the basis of median EF thickness, women with greater EF thickness had more VAT and higher adipo-cytokine concentrations and inflammatory markers.


CONCLUSIONS
This study suggests that EF thickness, an indicator of cardiac adiposity, may be significantly related to inflammatory adipo-cytokines in visceral-obese patients. This suggests EF might be used as an easy and reliable marker of visceral adiposity and inflammation and as a cardiovascular risk indicator.
Malavazos
Alexis E
AE
Endocrinology Unit, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Milan, IRCCS Policlinico San Donato, via Morandi 30, I-20097 San Donato Milanese, Italy. alexis.malavazos@libero.it
Ermetici
Federica
F
Cereda
Emanuele
E
Coman
Calin
C
Locati
Massimo
M
Morricone
Lelio
L
Corsi
Massimiliano M
MM
Ambrosi
Bruno
B
D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D000328:Adult; D001794:Blood Pressure; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006321:Heart / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000097:blood; D050152:Intra-Abdominal Fat / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D054409:Nicotinamide Phosphoribosyltransferase / Q000097:blood*; D009765:Obesity / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology; D009767:Obesity, Morbid / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology; D009929:Organ Size; D010496:Pericardium / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D017395:Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor 1 / Q000097:blood*; D012307:Risk Factors; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood; D049629:Waist-Hip Ratio
D017395:Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor 1; D014280:Triglycerides; D002784:Cholesterol; D054409:Nicotinamide Phosphoribosyltransferase