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Updated: Jun 10, 2026
10:37
Decellularization-Based Quantification of Skeletal Muscle Fatty Infiltration
Published on: June 9, 2023
Interscapular fat is strongly associated with insulin resistance
Claus Thamer1, Jürgen Machann, Harald Staiger
1Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetology, Vascular Medicine, Nephrology, and Clinical Chemistry, Eberhard Karls University, Tübingen, Germany.
The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism
|July 28, 2010
Summary
Interscapular fat (IF) and liver fat (LF) significantly impact insulin sensitivity. Changes in IF and LF during lifestyle intervention correlate with improved insulin sensitivity, highlighting their roles in metabolic health.
Area of Science:
- Metabolic Health
- Obesity Research
- Medical Imaging
Background:
- Subcutaneous abdominal adipose tissue (SCAAT), visceral adipose tissue (VAT), interscapular fat (IF), and liver fat (LF) are linked to insulin resistance.
- Whole-body MRI and spectroscopy enable precise quantification of fat depots in large populations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the cross-sectional association between fat depots and insulin sensitivity.
- To evaluate changes in fat depots and insulin sensitivity during a lifestyle intervention (LI).
Main Methods:
- 187 subjects for cross-sectional analysis; 172 for LI follow-up.
- Whole-body MRI quantified SCAAT, VAT, and IF; (1)H-MRS measured LF.
- Insulin sensitivity (IS) was determined via oral glucose tolerance tests.
Main Results:
- All measured fat depots (SCAAT, VAT, IF, LF) were negatively associated with IS cross-sectionally (P < 0.0001).
- Changes in all fat depots during LI correlated with changes in IS (P < 0.001).
- Multivariate analysis indicated changes in IF (P < 0.01) and LF (P < 0.0001) independently predicted IS changes during LI.
Conclusions:
- Interscapular fat (IF) is a key subcutaneous depot influencing whole-body insulin sensitivity.
- Liver fat (LF) and IF independently affect insulin sensitivity.
- Further research is required to elucidate the metabolic functions of IF.
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