Cold-activated brown adipose tissue in human adults: methodological issues

Abstract

The relevance of functional brown adipose tissue (BAT) depots in human adults was undisputedly proven approximately seven years ago. Here we give an overview of all dedicated studies that were published on cold-induced BAT activity in adult humans that appeared since then. Different cooling protocols and imaging techniques to determine BAT activity are reviewed. BAT activation can be achieved by means of air- or water-cooling protocols. The most promising approach is individualized cooling, during which subjects are studied at the lowest temperature for nonshivering condition, probably revealing maximal nonshivering thermogenesis. The highest BAT prevalence (i.e., close to 100%) is observed using the individualized cooling protocol. Currently, the most widely used technique to study the metabolic activity of BAT is deoxy-2-[18F]fluoro-d-glucose ([18F]FDG)-positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) imaging. Dynamic imaging provides quantitative information about glucose uptake rates, whereas static imaging reflects overall BAT glucose uptake, localization, and distribution. In general, standardized uptake values (SUV) are used to quantify BAT activity. An accurate determination of total BAT volume is hampered by the limited spatial resolution of the PET image, leading to spillover. Different research groups use different SUV threshold values, which make it difficult to directly compare BAT activity levels between studies. Another issue is the comparison of [18F]FDG uptake in BAT with respect to other tissues or upon with baseline values. This comparison can be performed by using the “fixed volume” methodology. Finally, the potential use of other relatively noninvasive methods to quantify BAT, like magnetic resonance imaging or thermography, is discussed.