Reinhard Moeller

Evaluation of Risk Profiles by Subcutaneous Adipose Tissue Topography in Obese Juveniles

Objective: To compare subcutaneous adipose tissue topography (SAT‐top) in obese juveniles with age‐matched normal‐weight controls.

Design of a compact, low-price, lifetime measuring instrument

The technical requirements for a small, rugged, and moderately- priced device for measuring fluorescence lifetimes have been investigated. The suitability and performance of various lifetime measuring schemes were compared. Based on these investigations a compact time-domain instrument was developed allowing measurement of fluorescence decays with a time resolution well below 1 ns. A semiconductor laser (frequency-doubled, if necessary) is used as a light source. Detection is done with a miniaturized photomultiplier. In favorable cases measurement of a fluorescent decay curve is accomplished within less than one minute.

Optical body fat measurement might contribute to the search for a predictor of type-2 diabetes mellitus

The optical device LIPOMETER allows for non-invasive, quick, precise and safe determination of subcutaneous fat distribution, so-called subcutaneous adipose tissue topography (SAT-Top). Previously we showed how the high-dimensional SAT-Top information of women with type-2 diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) and a health control group can be analysed and represented in low-dimensional plots by applying special artificial neural networks (ANNs). Three top-down sorted subcutaneous adipose tissue compartments were determined (upper trunk, lower trunk, legs). NIDDM women provided significantly higher upper trunk obesity and significantly lower leg obesity (apple type), as compared with their healthy control group. Now we apply those ANN results on SAT-Top measurements of young and healthy women, comparing their individual subcutaneous fat pattern to the body fat distribution of NIDDM women and to the normal fat development of healthy women. Some of these young and healthy women provide a subcutaneous fat distribution very similar to the SAT-Top results of NIDDM women, which might increase their risk for this disease later in life.

Measurement of subcutaneous adipose tissue development in children by the optical device LIPOMETER

The new optical device LIPOMETER enables the non-invasive, quick and save determination of the thickness of subcutantous adipose tissue (SAT) layers (in nm) at any site of the human body. The topographic specification of 15 evenly distributed body sites allows the precise measurement of subcutaneous body fat distribution, so called subcutaneous adipose tissue topopgraphy (SAT-Top). SAT-Top was determined in more than 1000 children aging from 7 to 21 yr. We describe the SAT-Top development of these subjects through different age groups and the differences between male and female SAT-Top development in each age group. SAT layer profiles (medians of the 15 body sites) for boys and girls in age group (7-9 yr) show a very similar pattern for both sexes, followed by decreasing SAT layer thicknesses in boys and increasing values in girls in the subsequent age groups. Between age group 3 (11-13 yr) and age group 7 (19- 21 yr) male and female SAT-Top is significantly different in (almost) all body sites. We present a precise description of SAT-Top development in boys and girls, providing a basis for further investigations in different fields such as obesity, sport sciences or metabolic disorders, and suggesting the LIPOMETER technique as an appropriate measurement tool.

Normal weight estonian prepubertal boys show a more cardiovascular-risk-associated adipose tissue distribution than austrian counterparts.

Objective. Risk phenotypes for cardiovascular disease (CVD) differ markedly between countries, like the reported high difference in CVD mortality in Austria and Estonia. Hitherto, the goal of this study was to find out risk profiles in body fat distribution yet present in childhood, paving the way for later clinical end points. Methods. he subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) distribution patterns in 553 Austrian (A) and Estonian (E) clinically healthy normal weight boys aged 11.1 (±0.8) years were analysed. We applied the patented optical device Lipometer which determines the individual subcutaneous adipose tissue topography (SAT-Top). Results. Total body fat did not differ significantly between E and A boys. A discriminant analysis using all Lipometer data, BMI, and the total body fat (TBF) yielded 84.6% of the boys correctly classified in Estonians and Austrians by 9 body sites. A factor analysis identified the SAT distribution of E as critically similar to male adult patients with coronary heart disease (CHD). Conclusions. We show in normal weight Estonian boys a highly significant decreased fat accumulation on the lower body site compared to age matched Austrian males. This SAT-Top phenotype may play an important role for the increased cardiovascular risk seen in the Estonian population.

Subcutaneous adipose tissue topography (SAT-Top) by means of the optical device lipometer highly correlated to plasma leptin levels in obese boys

The product of the ob-gene named leptin is correlated with body fat mass in humans. Little evidence exists if the same holds true for body fat distribution. In this study we therefore investigated plasma leptin levels and the subcutaneous adipose tissue topography (SAT-Top) by means of the newly developed optical device Lipometer before and after a 3 week weight reduction camp. Thirty four obese boys (mean age 12a) took part in this study. Body fat distribution were assessed by means of Lipometer to measure the thickness of a subcutaneous fat layer at 15 standardized body sites (SAT- Top). Plasma leptin levels (LL) were measured by radioimmunoassay. All measurements were taken at the beginning and at the end of the camp. By dividing all boys according chronological age (group A: age less than 12a, n equals 17/group B: greater than 12a, n equals 17) we found correlations with the combination of measured body sites (MBS) before (A: MBS vs. LL, R2 equals 0.79; p less than 0.01/B: MBS vs. LL, R2 equals 0.35; n.s.) and after (A: MBS vs. LL, R2 equals 0.83; p less than 0.01/B: MBS vs. LL, R2 equals 0.70; p less than 0.01) the intervention. Our study confirms that the subcutaneous adipose tissue topography (SAT- Top) by means of the optical device Lipometer serves as a marker of plasma leptin levels in obese boys and highlights the use of this optical device in a predictive manner.

Lipometer subcutaneous adipose tissue topography (SAT-Top) reflects serum leptin levels varying in circadian rhythms

Recent advances in obesity research have shown that the product of the ob-gene named leptin is related to total body fast mass in humans. There is, however, a debate if leptin levels are pulsatile and linked to body fat distribution. In this study we therefore investigated the subcutaneous adipose tissue topography (SAT-Top) measured by means of the newly developed device Lipometer and leptin levels during a 24 hours beginning at 0715am ending the same time in the next day. Blood samples for measurement of leptin were taken every 3 hours in a male subject. Measurements of SAT-Top were performed at 15 body sites from neck to calf at the left and right body site at the same time interval. We observed an almost symmetrically reaction of the left and right body site with a maximum of the mean value of all body sites in the evening at 0715pm. There was a negative correlation between serum leptin levels and SAT-Top using the set of certain body sites (R2 equals 0.80, p equals 0.01). If these combination of body sites is inversed and set against serum leptin levels, both curves show almost identical shape and time dependence. We conclude that SAT-Top by means of Lipometer is changed in a short time and related to leptin levels in the investigated male subject.