title: A commonly carried allele of the obesity-related FTO gene is associated with reduced brain volume in the healthy elderly.
abstract: A recently identified variant within the fat mass and obesity-associated (FTO) gene is carried by 46% of Western Europeans and is associated with an approximately 1.2 kg higher weight, on average, in adults and an approximately 1 cm greater waist circumference. With >1 billion overweight and 300 million obese persons worldwide, it is crucial to understand the implications of carrying this very common allele for the health of our aging population. FTO is highly expressed in the brain and elevated body mass index (BMI) is associated with brain atrophy, but it is unknown how the obesity-associated risk allele affects human brain structure. We therefore generated 3D maps of regional brain volume differences in 206 healthy elderly subjects scanned with MRI and genotyped as part of the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative. We found a pattern of systematic brain volume deficits in carriers of the obesity-associated risk allele versus noncarriers. Relative to structure volumes in the mean template, FTO risk allele carriers versus noncarriers had an average brain volume difference of approximately 8% in the frontal lobes and 12% in the occipital lobes-these regions also showed significant volume deficits in subjects with higher BMI. These brain differences were not attributable to differences in cholesterol levels, hypertension, or the volume of white matter hyperintensities; which were not detectably higher in FTO risk allele carriers versus noncarriers. These brain maps reveal that a commonly carried susceptibility allele for obesity is associated with structural brain atrophy, with implications for the health of the elderly.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Neuroimaging, Department of Neurology, University of California School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
authors.forename: April J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Ho
authors.forename: Jason L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Stein
authors.forename: Xue
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Hua
authors.forename: Suh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Derrek P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Hibar
authors.forename: Alex D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Leow
authors.forename: Ivo D
authors.initials: ID
authors.lastname: Dinov
authors.forename: Arthur W
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Toga
authors.forename: Andrew J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Saykin
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: Tatiana
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Foroud
authors.forename: Nathan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Pankratz
authors.forename: Matthew J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Huentelman
authors.forename: David W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Craig
authors.forename: Jill D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Gerber
authors.forename: April N
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Allen
authors.forename: Jason J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Corneveaux
authors.forename: Dietrich A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Stephan
authors.forename: Charles S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: DeCarli
authors.forename: Bryan M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: DeChairo
authors.forename: Steven G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Potkin
authors.forename: Clifford R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Jack
authors.forename: Michael W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Weiner
authors.forename: Cyrus A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Raji
authors.forename: Oscar L
authors.initials: OL
authors.lastname: Lopez
authors.forename: James T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Becker
authors.forename: Owen T
authors.initials: OT
authors.lastname: Carmichael
authors.forename: Paul M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Thompson
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000483:Alleles; D000071516:Alpha-Ketoglutarate-Dependent Dioxygenase FTO; D001921:Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000378:metabolism; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D009765:Obesity / Q000235:genetics*; D009929:Organ Size; D011506:Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D011506:Proteins; D000071516:Alpha-Ketoglutarate-Dependent Dioxygenase FTO; C526492:FTO protein, human
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