Body fat, in other words the adipose tissue, has been lately studied as a separate body organ which can generate a number of different molecules very active from the biological point of view. The most important for our debate are: - the hormone resistin, which is linked to insulin resistance and the development of type two diabetes;
- cytokine proteins that are associated with inflammation.
Even if they are in good health condition, people with more adipose tissue tend to have higher levels of known as C-reactive protein (CRP). Following recent researches, this protein is used diagnostically to predict future cardiovascular events. This CRP is produced in liver tissue and in the walls of blood vessels, but resistin, the hormone associated with diabetes and insulin resistance, can stimulate production of CRP proteins. And this is interesting because it is known that resistin is itself produced by fat cells. The connection that could explain the higher risk of cardiovascular disease is very clear: fat cells produce by themselves inflammatory signals that trigger cells to produce CRPs, and then CRPs also produce biological effects on vascular walls. The good news is the researchers found that aspirin and statin drugs, now commonly used to treat heart diseases, effectively step down production of CRP from fat cells. |
