A new method of infrared thermography for quantification of brown adipose tissue activation in healthy adults (TACTICAL): a randomized trial

• Published in: The journal of physiological sciences Vol. 67; no. 3; pp. 395 - 406
• Main Authors: Ang, Qi Yan, Goh, Hui Jen, Cao, Yanpeng, Li, Yiqun, Chan, Siew-Pang, Swain, Judith L., Henry, Christiani Jeyakumar, Leow, Melvin Khee-Shing
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Japan Elsevier Inc 01.05.2017; BioMed Central; Springer Japan
• Subjects: Adipose tissue; Adipose tissue (brown); Adipose Tissue, Brown - physiology; Adult; Blindness; Brown adipose tissue; Capsinoids; Clavicle; Cold challenge; Computer applications; Double-Blind Method; Energy Metabolism - physiology; Environmental effects; Fluorodeoxyglucose F18 - administration & dosage; Food; Healthy Volunteers; Humans; Infrared thermography; Male; Metabolic disorders; Obesity - physiopathology; Original Paper; Oxidation; Oxidation-Reduction; Positron emission tomography; Prospective Studies; Skin Temperature - physiology; Spectrophotometry, Infrared - methods; Supraclavicular skin temperature; Thermogenesis - physiology; Thermography; Thermography - methods; Young Adult; Infrared thermography; Brown adipose tissue; Capsinoids; Cold challenge; Supraclavicular skin temperature
• ISSN: 1880-6546; 1880-6562; 1880-6562
• DOI: 10.1007/s12576-016-0472-1

The ability to alter the amount and activity of brown adipose tissue (BAT) in human adults is a potential strategy to manage obesity and related metabolic disorders associated with food, drug, and environmental stimuli with BAT activating/recruiting capacity. Infrared thermography (IRT) provides a non-invasive and inexpensive alternative to the current methods (e.g. 18F-FDG PET) used to assess BAT. We have quantified BAT activation in the cervical-supraclavicular (C-SCV) region using IRT video imaging and a novel image computational algorithm by studying C-SCV heat production in healthy young men after cold stimulation and the ingestion of capsinoids in a prospective double-blind placebo-controlled randomized trial. Subjects were divided into low-BAT and high-BAT groups based on changes in IR emissions in the C-SCV region induced by cold. The high-BAT group showed significant increases in energy expenditure, fat oxidation, and heat output in the C-SCV region post-capsinoid ingestion compared to post-placebo ingestion, but the low-BAT group did not. Based on these results, we conclude that IRT is a promising tool for quantifying BAT activity.