Obesity affects brain structure and function- rescue by bariatric surgery?

Nota, Minke H.C.; Vreeken, Debby; Wiesmann, Maximilian; Aarts, Edo O.; Hazebroek, Eric J.; Kiliaan, Amanda J.

doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.11.025

Cited by 65 publications

(62 citation statements)

References 96 publications

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“…In 2018, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that globally 39% of the adults are overweight (body mass index [BMI] ≥ 25 kg/m 2 ) and 13% are obese (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m 2 ) [1]. Research has shown that obesity increases the risk of developing metabolic illnesses [1,2] and disturbs brain structure and function [3][4][5]. For instance, it is known that regional cerebral blood flow is decreased in individuals with obesity, particularly in prefrontal brain regions that are involved in cognitive, attention, and decision-making functions [6].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

High-fat diet-induced obesity and impairment of brain neurotransmitter pool

Labban

Alfawaz

Almnaizel

et al. 2020

Translational Neuroscience

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AbstractObesity and the brain are linked since the brain can control the weight of the body through its neurotransmitters. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity on brain functioning through the measurement of brain glutamate, dopamine, and serotonin metabolic pools. In the present study, two groups of rats served as subjects. Group 1 was fed a normal diet and named as the lean group. Group 2 was fed an HFD for 4 weeks and named as the obese group. Markers of oxidative stress (malondialdehyde, glutathione, glutathione-s-transferase, and vitamin C), inflammatory cytokines (interleukin [IL]-6 and IL-12), and leptin along with a lipid profile (cholesterol, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein, and low-density lipoprotein levels) were measured in the serum. Neurotransmitters dopamine, serotonin, and glutamate were measured in brain tissue. Fecal samples were collected for observing changes in gut flora. In brain tissue, significantly high levels of dopamine and glutamate as well as significantly low levels of serotonin were found in the obese group compared to those in the lean group (P > 0.001) and were discussed in relation to the biochemical profile in the serum. It was also noted that the HFD affected bacterial gut composition in comparison to the control group with gram-positive cocci dominance in the control group compared to obese. The results of the present study confirm that obesity is linked to inflammation, oxidative stress, dyslipidemic processes, and altered brain neurotransmitter levels that can cause obesity-related neuropsychiatric complications.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

High-fat diet-induced obesity and impairment of brain neurotransmitter pool

Labban

Alfawaz

Almnaizel

et al. 2020

Translational Neuroscience

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“…CBF is not considered a new approach, and alterations in CBF have been observed in cognition decline, 9 neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, 10 and mental illnesses. 11 In terms of obesity, early works using single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) 12 and ultrasound 13 demonstrated that high BMI is associated with a reduction in brain perfusion; meanwhile, arterial spin labeling (ASL) MRI has also received increasing attention for assessing the impact of obesity on brain perfusion, [14][15][16][17] with the advantages of no radiation burden and user independence. Information obtained by analyzing CBF can help to advance our understanding of obesity, beyond the knowledge obtained from analyzing brain structure.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The influence of obesity on cerebral blood flow in young adults using arterial spin labeling MRI

Peng

Chen

2020

NMR in Biomedicine

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Obesity causes damage to several organs, including the brain. Recent studies have been focusing on understanding the mechanisms through which obesity affects brain structure and function using neuroimaging techniques. A functional biomarker, such as cerebral blood flow (CBF), is a powerful tool that can be used to explore neural dysfunction. However, there is currently limited information regarding the association between CBF and obesity. The study was conducted to investigate the potential effect of obesity on brain perfusion in a young cohort aged 20‐30 years. A total of 21 obese (body mass index (BMI) > 26 kg/m2) and 21 lean (BMI < 24 kg/m2) right‐handed volunteers were included in this study. CBF was acquired using the 2D single post‐labeling delay (PLD) arterial spin labeling (ASL) technique on a 3 T MRI scanner. A multiple regression analysis was performed to examine the difference in global and regional gray matter (GM) CBF between the groups. CBF value was assigned as the dependent variable, whereas age, sex, and group (obese or lean) were considered as the independent variables. Results showed that group‐related differences in CBF were homogeneous across brain regions, as obese subjects had significantly lower global GM CBF than lean subjects (P < 0.05). In the voxelwise analysis, obese individuals had significantly lower CBF in the left pulvinar of the thalamus and visual association areas, including Brodmann area (BA) 7, BA18, and BA19, than lean subjects. Although the signal‐to‐noise ratio was slightly compromised for 2D sequences and subject‐specific arterial transit time was not estimated due to a single PLD sequence, this study demonstrated alterations in CBF in obese subjects, particularly in regions of the pulvinar of the thalamus and its synchronously related areas such as visual association areas. These results suggest that ASL provides a potential platform for further obesity‐related research.

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“…Epidemiological studies indicate that midlife obesity increases the risk for late-life dementia development (Anstey et al, 2011;Xu et al, 2011;Pedditizi et al, 2016;Singh-Manoux et al, 2018). Obesity has also been linked to metabolic and structural changes in brain areas that support memory processes (Spitznagel et al, 2015;Nota et al, 2020), such as the hippocampus (Raji et al, 2010) and prefrontal cortex (Volkow et al, 2009;Kurth et al, 2013;Yau et al, 2014). Moreover, neuropsychological studies have demonstrated associations between severe obesity and reduced performance on cognitive tests of visual memory (e.g., remembering visual patterns) (Gunstad et al, 2010;Sargénius et al, 2017), prospective memory (e.g., remembering activities to be performed) (Gunstad et al, 2010), "what-where-when" memory (e.g., memory for complex events) (Cheke, 2016;Cheke et al, 2017) and verbal memory (e.g., learning and remembering verbally presented material) (Gunstad et al, 2006;Hartanto and Yong, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Literature has indicated that both behavioral and surgical weight loss interventions are related to improvements in several cognitive domains (e.g., attention, executive function, and memory), independent of baseline BMI (Veronese et al, 2017), and weight loss is assumed to impede obesity-related cognitive decline (Siervo et al, 2011;Handley et al, 2016;Thiara et al, 2017;Veronese et al, 2017). Bariatric surgery, which is the most effective intervention for substantial and sustained weight loss (Chang et al, 2014), has been posited as a particularly important contributor in attenuating the potentially negative consequences of severe obesity on cognitive function (Stanek and Gunstad, 2013;Haley et al, 2015;Spitznagel et al, 2015;Saindane et al, 2019;Nota et al, 2020). Several publications from the Longitudinal Assessment of Bariatric Surgery (LABS) study have demonstrated reduced performance on cognitive tests in bariatric surgery candidates (Spitznagel et al, 2015), with 12-23% of these patients showing clinically significant verbal memory impairment prior to surgery (Gunstad et al, 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, in these specific studies, memory improvements were not strongly associated with the amount of weight loss. Prior reviews (Spitznagel et al, 2015;Handley et al, 2016;Nota et al, 2020) have emphasized that the weight lossrelated resolution of somatic comorbidities might play a more important role, including Type 2 diabetes (T2D) (Cheke et al, 2017), hypertension (Walker et al, 2017), sleep apnea (Olaithe et al, 2018) and metabolic inflammation (often measured via C-reactive protein (CRP) levels) (Allison and Ditor, 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Visual, Verbal and Everyday Memory 2 Years After Bariatric Surgery: Poorer Memory Performance at 1-Year Follow-Up

et al. 2021

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Severe obesity has been associated with reduced performance on tests of verbal memory in bariatric surgery candidates. There is also some evidence that bariatric surgery leads to improved verbal memory, yet these findings need further elucidation. Little is known regarding postoperative memory changes in the visual domain and how patients subjectively experience their everyday memory after surgery. The aim of the current study was to repeat and extend prior findings on postoperative memory by investigating visual, verbal, and self-reported everyday memory following surgery, and to examine whether weight loss and somatic comorbidity predict memory performance. The study was a prospective, observational study in which participants (n = 48) underwent cognitive testing at baseline, 1 and 2 years after bariatric surgery. Repeated measures analyses of variance revealed significantly poorer visual and verbal memory performance at the 1-year follow-up, with performance subsequently returning to baseline levels after 2 years. Verbal learning and self-reported everyday memory did not show significant postoperative changes. Memory performance at 1 year was not significantly predicted by weight loss, changes in C-reactive protein levels or postoperative somatic comorbidity (Type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea, and hypertension). The study demonstrated poorer visual and verbal memory performance at 1-year follow-up that returned to baseline levels after 2 years. These findings are in contrast to most previous studies and require further replication, however, the results indicate that postoperative memory improvements following bariatric surgery are not universal. Findings suggest that treatment providers should also be aware of patients potentially having poorer memory at 1 year following surgery.

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Obesity affects brain structure and function- rescue by bariatric surgery?

Cited by 65 publications

References 96 publications

High-fat diet-induced obesity and impairment of brain neurotransmitter pool

High-fat diet-induced obesity and impairment of brain neurotransmitter pool

The influence of obesity on cerebral blood flow in young adults using arterial spin labeling MRI

Visual, Verbal and Everyday Memory 2 Years After Bariatric Surgery: Poorer Memory Performance at 1-Year Follow-Up

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