Impact of obesity on human brain metabolites: a systematic review on magnetic resonance spectroscopy studies.

Abstract

Objectives: Obesity can lead to cerebral consequences that are mediated by peripheral inflammation and, consequently, neuroinflammation. Brain metabolites play a pivotal role in regulating neuroinflammation and maintaining neuronal health. Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS) can effectively capture neurometabolic changes. This systematic review aimed to understand the evaluation of MRS-based common neurometabolites and their alteration patterns in obesity and identify vulnerable brain regions of interest.

Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted with Scopus, PubMed, and Google scholar search engines, using appropriate queries that included all the original research articles published in English and performed MRS on obese humans irrespective of age and gender.

Results: A total of eight studies were selected for evidence synthesis. The sample size of the studies ranged from n = 23 to n = 115. The majority of the studies (n = 7) were cross-sectionally designed. The most altered neurometabolites were N-acetyl aspartate and Myo Inositol. The most explored brain region was the occipitoparietal grey matter, including the posterior cingulate gyrus. Discussion: The altered neurometabolites support the obesity and neuroinflammation interrelationship. However, the evidence is reported from the pool of correlational studies that do not establish a causal relationship between obesity and neurometabolic alterations. Additionally, the limitations of in vivo MRS are to be considered for reporting the inferences. The available information was based on obesity assessment with BMI and was limited to racial homogeneity of the western population. Thus, with diversity in ethnicity and obesity diagnosis methods, more clinical research is required to generalize the findings.