Body fat distribution in Parkinson's disease: An MRI-based body fat quantification study.
There is some evidence that Parkinson's Disease (PD) patients have lower body weight and lower fat mass when compared to healthy subjects and that lower body weight and fat mass influence disease risk and progression. It remains unclear, however, if weight loss of fat mass loss occurs only in a subgroup of patients and whether fat distribution is altered during PD. The aim of this study was to prospectively investigate adipose tissue content and distribution in PD patients.



The body fat composition of PD patients (N = 54) was compared with age matched healthy controls (N = 55) using a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based method. A longitudinal MRI scan was acquired in 25 PD patients after a mean follow up period of 12 months.



The volume of total body fat as well as of visceral fat showed no difference between PD patients and healthy controls at baseline or at follow up. However, PD patients displayed decreased subcutaneous fat tissue (p = 0.01) and a higher visceral to subcutaneous fat ratio as compared to controls (p = 0.004). After follow up, 16 PD patients did not lose weight, while 9 PD patients lost between 0.5 and 10 kg.



Fat distribution is altered in PD patients, with an increased ratio of visceral to subcutaneous fat.
Department of Neurology, University of Ulm, Germany; Department of Radiation Oncology, University Hospital of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany; Heidelberg Institute of Radiation Oncology (HIRO), Heidelberg, Germany. Electronic address: denise.bernhardt@med.uni-heidelberg.de.
Denise
D
Bernhardt
Department of Neurology, University of Ulm, Germany. Electronic address: hans-peter.mueller@uni-ulm.de.
Hans-Peter
HP
Müller
Department of Neurology, University of Ulm, Germany. Electronic address: albert.ludolph@rku.de.
Albert C
AC
Ludolph
Inserm U1118, Mécanismes centraux et périphériques de la neurodegenerescence, Strasbourg, France; Université de Strasbourg, Faculté de Médecine, UMR_S1118, Strasbourg, France. Electronic address: ldupuis@unistra.fr.
Luc
L
Dupuis
Department of Neurology, University of Ulm, Germany. Electronic address: jan.kassubek@uni-ulm.de.
Jan
J
Kassubek
D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D050218:Body Fat Distribution; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D020738:Leptin / Q000097:blood; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000097:blood / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology*; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric
D020738:Leptin
Body fat distribution; Magnetic resonance imaging; Metabolism; Parkinson's disease; Weight loss