Evidence mapPaperPMID 33729178Full record

ReviewEuropean journal of endocrinology2021

MECHANISMS IN ENDOCRINOLOGY: Human brown adipose tissue as a therapeutic target: warming up or cooling down?

Ben T McNeill, Karla J Suchacki, Roland H Stimson

Open access · hybridAbstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in European journal of endocrinology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 30 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
30citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
3.6field-weighted citation impact, top 6% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

30 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 44 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Trial
  3. Orai1-mediated CaExperimental & molecular medicine · 2026
    Article
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  5. Review
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  8. Lipomatosis in Myoclonic Epilepsy with Ragged Red Fibers Syndrome.Annals of Indian Academy of Neurology · 2025
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  10. Article
  11. Review
  12. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Ben T McNeillUniversity/BHF Centre for Cardiovascular Science, University of Edinburgh, Queen's Medical Research Institute, Edinburgh, UK.
Karla J SuchackiUniversity/BHF Centre for Cardiovascular Science, University of Edinburgh, Queen's Medical Research Institute, Edinburgh, UK.
Roland H StimsonUniversity/BHF Centre for Cardiovascular Science, University of Edinburgh, Queen's Medical Research Institute, Edinburgh, UK.
University of Edinburgh · GBThe Queen's Medical Research Institute · GB

Funding

Medical Research Council MR/K010271/1Medical Research Council MR/S035761/1
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Excessive accumulation of white adipose tissue leads to obesity and its associated metabolic health consequences such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Several approaches to treat or prevent obesity including public health interventions, surgical weight loss, and pharmacological approaches to reduce caloric intake have failed to substantially modify the increasing prevalence of obesity. The (re-)discovery of active brown adipose tissue (BAT) in adult humans approximately 15 years ago led to a resurgence in research into whether BAT activation could be a novel therapy for the treatment of obesity. Upon cold stimulus, BAT activates and generates heat to maintain body temperature, thus increasing energy expenditure. Activation of BAT may provide a unique opportunity to increase energy expenditure without the need for exercise. However, much of the underlying mechanisms surrounding BAT activation are still being elucidated and the effectiveness of BAT as a therapeutic target has not been realised. Research is ongoing to determine how best to expand BAT mass and activate existing BAT; approaches include cold exposure, pharmacological stimulation using sympathomimetics, browning agents that induce formation of thermogenic beige adipocytes in white adipose depots, and the identification of factors secreted by BAT with therapeutic potential. In this review, we discuss the caloric capacity and other metabolic benefits from BAT activation in humans and the role of metabolic tissues such as skeletal muscle in increasing energy expenditure. We discuss the potential of current approaches and the challenges of BAT activation as a novel strategy to treat obesity and metabolic disorders.

Indexed as

Body Temperature RegulationAdipose Tissue, BrownEnergy MetabolismHumansObesity

Identifiers

PMID33729178
PMCPMC8111330
OpenAlexW3136792523

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.