Researchers at Houston Methodist have found a new way that belly fat could help fuel the brain changes that lead to Alzheimer’s disease.
The study shows that tiny packets called extracellular vesicles are released from fat cells and carry harmful lipids into the brain, speeding up the buildup of amyloid‑β plaques that damage brain cells.
How fat‑cell messengers cross the brain’s guard
Extracellular vesicles are like little delivery trucks that move signals around the body. In the new research, scientists discovered that these trucks can slip past the blood‑brain barrier, the natural shield that normally keeps bad substances out of the brain. Once inside, the vesicles bring lipids—fats that act as biological messengers—that interact directly with amyloid‑β proteins, encouraging them to clump together into plaques.
Obesity and Alzheimer’s: a clear link
The study, published on Oct. 2 in Alzheimer & Dementia, looked at people with obesity and lean individuals. It found that the lipid makeup of the vesicles differed between the two groups. Those differences affected how quickly amyloid‑β proteins formed plaques in laboratory experiments. Because obesity affects roughly 40 % of U.S. adults and Alzheimer’s already touches more than 7 million Americans, the link is both clinically and personally important.
Leaders behind the discovery
Stephen Wong, Ph.D., led the project as the John S. Dunn Presidential Distinguished Chair in Biomedical Engineering at Houston Methodist. He worked with Li Yang, Ph.D., and Jianting Sheng, Ph.D., who helped design experiments and coordinate across institutions. Wong noted that obesity is now recognized as the top modifiable risk factor for dementia in the United States.
What this could mean for the future
If we can target these vesicles or stop the harmful lipids they carry, we might be able to slow or even prevent amyloid plaque build‑up in people at risk. “Future work should focus on how drug therapy could stop or slow the build‑up of Alzheimer‑related toxic proteins in at‑risk individuals,” the researchers said.
The paper includes additional co‑authors from Houston Methodist, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, and the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. The findings highlight a new avenue to understand how body fat can influence brain health and open the door to potential treatments that address the source of the problem—fat‑cell communication.
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