Journal of Obesity & Weight Loss Therapy
Open Access

Abstract

Background: Epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) inflammatory capacity was shown to correlate with coronary vessels' narrowings in stable and unstable coronary artery disease. It has been also shown, that maximal standardized uptake value (SUV) of 18-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) detected by positron emission tomography is proportional to macrophage density. EAT contains abundant ganglionated plexi contributing to the occurrence of atrial fibrillation (AF). Accordingly, we examined EAT inflammatory activity using FDG-PET/CT in patients with AF and in controls. Methods: 21 consecutive patients with confirmed history of AF underwent FDG-PET/CT. SUV were measured in fat adjacent to the right roof of left atrium (LAF), right venctricle (RVF), atrioventricular groove (AGF), and left main artery (LMF). Additionally SUV was measured in subcutaneous fat (SC), visceral thoracic fat (VS). Similar measurements of SUV were taken in a group of healthy volunteers matched for age and BMI (n=16). In the group of AF patients, associations of SUV with gender, age, body mass index (BMI), serum glucose, were further analyzed. Results: EAT SUV in all locations was significantly greater in FA patients than in the control group (LAF: 1.21 vs 0.60, p<0.0001; RVF: 0.75 vs 0.40, p<0.0001; AGF: 1.46 vs 0.66, p<0.0001; LMF 1.41 vs 0.69, p<0.0001, respectively). In addition, LAF, RVF, AGF, and LMF was significantly greater than SUV in SC and VS for both FA and controls (SC: 0.33; VS: 0.58; LAF: 1.21; RVF : 0.75; AGF 1.46; LMF: 1.41; p<0.01). EAT SUV was not related to gender, age, BMI, or serum glucose. Conclusions: 1. Inflammatory activity of EAT reflected by SUV is higher in FA patients, than in non-FA controls; 2. Inflammatory activity of EAT adjacent to left atrium, right ventricle, atrioventricular groove, and left main artery is greater than in subcutaneous or visceral thoracic tissue; 3. In conclusion, the greater pro-inflammatory activity of EAT in patients with FA compared to healthy controls may contribute to the occurence of AF.

Biography

Tomasz Mazurek has completed his Ph.D. at the Postgraduate Medical School of Warsaw, Poland as a result of his post doc fellowship at Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA in years 2001-2003. His research training and practice at Cardiac Research Center of TJU in Philadelphia resulted in several publications in Circulation , ATVB, and other peer reviewed journals. Currently, he is a director of two national grants (Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education) dealing with a role of adipose tissue in the development of atherosclerosis in coronary arteries, with the use of virtual histology of coronary arteries (VH-IVUS), histology, mass spectrophotometry, and positron emission tomography. In his clinical practice he is an interventional cardiologist at Medical University of Warsaw, Poland. He has performed over 3000 diagnostic and over 1000 therapeutic procedures, including intracoronary ultrasonography (IVUS, VH-IVUS), optical coherence tomography (OCT), left main artery angioplasty. He is a reviewer of Polish Journal of Cardiology (Kardiologia Polska) and Obesity.